


I Scream But No Sound Comes out

by laxit21



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mutism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2019-08-09 15:52:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 52,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16452842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21
Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story came from one idea I had, which was 'what if Oliver's PTSD wasn't so easy to hide or ignore'.

Oliver stood looking out over the Starling City skyline as Dr. Lamb and his mother spoke out in the hallway. He knew what was going to happen in a few moments. Moira would come into the room to tell him how happy she was he was alive, only to learn how much he’d changed in the last five years. He needed to treasure these last few moments before reality set in for her.

“Has he said anything about what happened?”

“He hasn’t said anything. I want you to prepare yourself, the Oliver you lost might not be the one they found.”

Soon, far sooner than he would’ve liked, the door opened behind Oliver and his mother stepped into the room.

“Oliver?” He turned and gave his mother a sad smile before walking closer to her. “Oh, my beautiful boy. I missed you so much.” He didn’t respond but hugged his mother tighter. They broke apart a few seconds later. “When I got that call from the embassy, I couldn’t- it was like a dream come true.” It was at this moment that Moira Queen realized something. “Oliver, please say something.”

He took a few steps back and shook his head. He didn’t speak, he couldn’t make the words come out. He gestured to the doctor with two hands, miming writing something with a pen. Lamb handed him a pen and a notepad, and he began to write something down. He held the paper up so Moira could see.

_I can’t._

“Doctor? Why didn’t you tell me-?”

“His mutism isn’t caused by a physical injury. His throat, esophagus and vocal chords are all perfectly intact. The old term for it was elective mutism, where a person is physically capable of speaking but doesn’t for an unknown reason. Its widely believed to be a result of trauma.”

“Can he recover?”

“Yes, its possible but it won’t be an easy or short process.”

Oliver had to stay overnight for observation, so Moira went home to break the news to Thea, Tommy and Walter. All three reacted similar to how Moira had. She wasn’t sure any of them truly believed it.

The week after Oliver came home was frustrating for everyone. Sure, he could use his phone to text people, but it felt weird and rude to do when face-to-face with someone so he relied on writing things down. He could tell they were getting annoyed at having to stop and read his responses for every conversation. Thea kept trying to make him talk, to make him say anything and became annoyed when it didn’t work. His mother seemed dead set on filling all the silence. In addition, it felt like they were suffocating him, always wanting to be there in case he needed anything. On the eighth day he was home, Tommy made a suggestion. He could tell Oliver was getting frustrated with trying to talk to his family and often feeling ignored.

“Why don’t we all learn ASL? That way he doesn’t have to write everything down.”

“I’m not sure that’s-“

Before she could finish, Oliver knocked on the table once to get their attention. He held up his notepad.

_I know some ASL already. I think it’s a great idea._

“I know it sounds like a good idea Oliver, but the doctor said you would recover and speak again. we just need to be patient.”

Oliver was too upset at his mother’s blasé attitude to point out that Lamb said he might recover, and he might speak again. Might and will were two different things.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver starts his mission and hits a bit of a snag, and a few people make a first appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ:  
> 1) So, Oliver's still gonna be a vigilante. Due to his condition, he has to make a few adjustments. Oliver and Tommy weren't kidnapped, because Moira thought it would be a waste of time.  
> 2)I'm adding some minor, background details/story for a few characters.

Laurel paused and put her cup down as Tommy finished his sentence. “Did you ask me to get coffee with you just to try and make me forgive Ollie?”

“What? No, I- its been the elephant in the room for a week and it just kinda occurred to me that you might still be angry. Understandably.”

“If he wants my forgiveness, why isn’t he here to ask for it himself?”

Tommy froze while thinking of an answer. Oliver’s condition was his private business and it wasn’t his place to tell Laurel about Oliver’s mutism. “About that, he’s….. he’s not in a good place. He can’t- I’m positive he wants to talk to you, but he can’t.” he sighed. “Let’s talk about something else.”

 

Oliver snuck into his target’s office. Adam Hunt was still at the office, no doubt finding new innocent people to swindle out of their life’s savings. He was so focused on his work, he didn’t look up to see who was there or even comment. Last night, he'd sent an untraceable e-mail to Hunt, ordering him to return the money he'd stolen from people. Oliver nocked an arrow and fired so that it would miss Hunt’s head by a few inches. That got his attention.

“Who-? What do you want?”

Oliver pressed a button inside the sleeve of his jacket.

A male voice that sounded a little robotic spoke. “You have failed this city.” Seconds later, Hunt’s security showed up and Oliver made his escape out of the window. He’d sent his message; the router arrow would do the rest.

Oliver let out a sigh as he made it back to his father’s old steel factory that he was using as a base. One name down, countless others to go. First, though, he needed to fix the recording he used. It still sounded too robotic in his opinion. He wanted it to sound like a human voice being run through a modulator, not a talking computer. He worked on that for a few hours, unsuccessfully, before heading home.

 

Two days later, Oliver’s phone broke. Since that was his main way to communicate with people, he needed to get it fixed, fast. Walter mentioned a QC employee who could help.

Oliver found himself knocking on the door to Felicity Smoak’s office the following morning. She spun around and he saw that she had blonde hair, square glasses and was chewing on a red pen.

“Can I help you?”

He handed her the note he’d written on the ride over. _Hi, my name is Oliver Queen. I was wondering if you could help me._

“No problem. What’s the issue?” she asked. He began writing something down when she spoke again. “Wait, not to be rude, but it just occurred to me that you might be deaf or hard of hearing and me talking wouldn’t help that much. Can you hear me?” He nodded. “Would signing be easier? If you know ASL that is, I don’t know if you do. Not that you have to learn it, I think more people should but- I’m gonna stop now.”

She thought it was a little odd that he didn’t just say what he wanted, but she supposed he had a good reason for not talking and didn’t want to push him. it wasn’t her business anyway.

He didn’t make any noise, but judging by the way his shoulders moved up and down, he was laughing at her babbling. He also had a smile on his face. He slowly signed “I know some ASL, but I am not very good” to her.

“That’s okay. I just didn’t want to make you write if signing was easier for you. How can I help you?”

_My phone broke. I mostly communicate via text. Walter said you might be able to fix it._ He handed her his phone.

She looked the device over before turning back to him. “I can fix this. I can also- if you want, I know an app or two that you might find useful.”

_How?_

“You type in what you want to say and it reads it aloud.” She told him. He looked unsure, so she started to backtrack. “Only if you want. And I’m sensing that you aren’t interested. Forget I said anything.”

_I need to think about it. If I change my mind, can I come back and have you download it for me?_

“Yeah, no problem.” She removed the back of the phone to start repairing it. “This might take a little bit, so why don’t you sit down?”

He took a seat next to her and watched her work. After about five minutes, he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. _How do you know ASL?_

“My cousin was born deaf. My whole family learned it so she could communicate with us. One of the apps I mentioned? I created it for her.”

_That’s amazing._

“Thank you for being amazed.” She smiled. “And voila! Your phone is fixed!”

_You’re a lifesaver._ He left her office in a much better mood than he expected. Not only was his phone fixed, but he’d enjoyed his conversation with her and she hadn’t flooded him with questions like everybody else did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver deals with a new obstacle, his family and friends still don't 'get it' when it comes to his condition and he asks someone for a favor.

When Oliver got back to the Queen Mansion, he found his mother standing in the foyer talking to an unknown black man in a suit.

“Good, you’re here.” she said when she heard the door open and him walk in. “Oliver, there’s someone I want you to meet. This is John Diggle. He’ll be accompanying you from now on.”

_Why?_

“We’ve received some….troubling things in the mail since your return. That combined with your….condition made me decide to hire Mr. Diggle.”

His mother was lying to him. It had surprised him at first, but after losing his voice, Oliver had gotten much better at reading people, and telling they were lying. It had saved him on the island shortly before his rescue. He knew how to tell if someone was lying, and Moira Queen was definitely lying. Or at least not telling the whole truth.

 _I don’t need a babysitter._ He didn’t even respond to the implication that he needed help function because he couldn’t speak.

“This is something I need. We just got you back and-“

Oliver turned and went to his room. he was really starting to get tired of everyone ignoring what he wanted. Or acting like he couldn’t make a decision for himself. He guessed now he had to add ‘ditch my bodyguard’ on his to-do list before heading out every night.

 

The next morning, Oliver sat in one of the mansion’s sitting rooms, staring blankly in front of him.

“I want to help you Oliver. Please give me a chance to do that.” Dr. Brown, the therapist his mother had hired for him, said. “You’ve been through a very traumatic experience. I can understand your reluctance to discuss it.”

_I’m not going to talk about it._

“If you don’t talk about it, you might never move past it. You might never regain your voice.”

 _What’s wrong with that? I’m fine like this._ He scribbled quickly. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t convey his tone when writing things down. He meant for it to sound nonchalant, but based on the doctor’s expression it didn’t read that way.

“Are you being reluctant because you don’t want your family to know what happened? Because, as a medical professional, I’m barred from sharing anything you tell me.”

He didn’t want his family to know what happened, that much was true. He also thought the doctor’s words were crap. He was sure the man meant it, but his mother would somehow find a way to know.

The rest of the hour consisted of Brown trying to make Oliver answer questions about his emotional state and Oliver refusing to answer and staring into space. When the hour was over, Moira came into the room.

“How did it go?”

The doctor gave a meaningless reply about this being the first session, but how things looked promising. Oliver left the room without bothering to tell his mom anything or saying goodbye to the doctor. He didn’t want a therapist and definitely didn’t need one his mother hired. He was a grown man, he could find his own psychiatrist if he wanted.

After the doctor left, his mom tracked him down to ask what he thought, if he liked Dr. Brown. Oliver told her he didn’t need a therapist. Her lecture was interrupted by Tommy showing up to drag him out of the house.

“C’mon, its Ladies Night at Poison.”

 _No. I’m not going._ He wasn’t interested in being around so many people. They’d ask him about the island or why he didn’t talk. Both situations made his anxiety worse, which in turn made him more on edge and hypervigilant.

“I finally have my wingman back.”

_I said no._

“Chicks dig the whole silent, mysterious stranger type. That, and your new post-island look, will have them flocking to you.”

_Not interested._

“Why not?”

_I’m just not. Saying that should be reason enough._

He didn’t want to be mad at Tommy, he really didn’t, but this attitude was getting annoying. Tommy acted like the island was some kind of vacation or cool experience to brag about. It wasn’t. He lost his father, his innocence, his voice and a lot more there.  He and Thea both acted like Oliver’s silence was a choice half the time. Before his friend could argue, Oliver left.

 

It took Oliver a week to work up the courage to go back to Queen Consolidated to see Felicity. Part of it was because he’d had a string of bad days recently between flashbacks from the island and fights with his family. Part of it was because he didn’t want to bother her, wallowing in his self-worth issues. Ollie had been confident, cocky even. Oliver, however, felt like he didn’t deserve to have survived more often than not and was unsure most of the time. He supposed in addition to undiagnosed PTSD, he likely had some form of anxiety as well. the day he worked up the courage to go back to QC, he found her office and knocked on the door.

She turned around, saw him and smiled. “Hello, Oliver.” He waved. “What brings you to my office?”

_Sorry for stopping by unexpected. I had a question about something with my phone but I couldn’t just text you because I don’t have your number._

“Well, let’s fix that then.” She said as she wrote her cell number down on a pink sticky note and handed it to him. “Since you’re here, what’s the question?”

He made up some story about not understanding how to load music onto his phone and she patiently walked him through the steps. Even though he’d only met her a week ago, he felt more comfortable around her than anyone else these days. Excluding Felicity, the person he felt most comfortable around was Raisa, mostly because she didn’t try to fill the silence like everyone else.

“Was there anything else you needed help with?” Felicity asked, snapping him back to reality. He reached for his notepad. It was now or never.

 _ ~~No, but~~_ He began to write but then crossed it out. _~~I know we just met, but I wanted to ask~~ Will you teach me ASL? I know some but want to learn more. I want to be able to communicate with it and not just fingerspell everything._

“You want me to teach you ASL?” She repeated. He prepared himself for her to say no, that she didn’t have enough time or something. “I’d love to. It can’t be during the workday though, but my evenings and weekends are usually free. We could do Saturday mornings or something.”

 _Saturday would be good for me. I’ll get out of your hair now._ he wanted to show off the little ASL he already knew, so he signed “Thank you, Felicity.”

“You’re welcome, Oliver.” she signed back.

He left Queen Consolidated for the second time in a row with a smile on his face. He made it back to the mansion and saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. He walked inside to find several people in the foyer talking. Upon hearing the door close, everyone turned towards the door. Moira looked annoyed, Thea looked bored, Tommy looked concerned but it was the fourth person that made Oliver nervous.

“Enough’s enough, Ollie. We need to talk.” Laurel said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontations happen and everyone seems intent on alienating Oliver further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly an insight on how Oliver feels about everyone's attempts to 'help' him.

“Enough’s enough, Ollie. We need to talk.” Laurel said.

Oliver gulped and subconsciously took a step backwards. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked for some way, any way, out of the room. Everyone just stood there, watching him. Trying to gauge what he was going to do.

“You cheated on me with my sister, you got her killed and you didn’t even think to try and apologize.” Oliver stayed frozen to his spot. “Five years and you have nothing to say to me?”

“I told you this wasn’t a good idea, Laurel.” Tommy piped up.

“No, you kept telling me how sorry he was. How he just needed time to work out what to say. I think five years was long enough to think about it. If he really is sorry, I wanna hear it from his own mouth.”

Oliver looked between his two oldest friends and something dawned on him. Tommy hadn’t told Laurel about his condition. She didn’t know he couldn’t speak.

_You didn’t tell her?_

“I was hoping you’d be better by the time she confronted you.” Oliver wanted to yell about how stupid that sounded. It would be months, if not years, before he’d get ‘better’. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. None of them seemed to understand that trauma, especially the trauma he’d been through, wasn’t that easy to ‘get over’ as they thought.

“Tell me what?”

_I can’t talk Laurel. I haven’t been able to speak since I came back._

“You can’t talk? Are you kidding me? Of all the excuses to have, you decided on mutism? If you don’t want to talk to me, don’t wanna give me the apology I deserve, just say so.”

_I CAN’T!_

“It’s not an excuse, Laurel.” Moira began. “Oliver underwent something traumatic on the island. As a result, he’s lost the ability to speak.”

“Fine, you want to pretend to be traumatized because you don’t have the balls to admit you messed up, go ahead. When you decide to drop the act, I’ll be waiting for that apology.” Laurel said before leaving the building.

Oliver was left facing his family and Tommy and resisting the urge to throw something. He didn’t want to see Laurel, he’d made that clear. Yet somehow, no one stopped her from coming here and confronting him. He doubted anyone even considered how he might feel for his ex-girlfriend to show up and demand an apology. Not to mention the likelihood she wouldn’t believe them about his condition and mock him for it.

“Look, Ollie, I-“

_No._

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

_I don’t wanna hear it. How did you think that was going to go? Did you think I’d see Laurel and my mutism would be cured? Did you think she’d be ‘understanding’ about my condition? Did you think at all? Or are you just let her do this without thinking about how it might effect me?_

“I understand that that wasn’t easy, but it doesn’t justify getting angry at Tommy.” Moira interjected.

_I’m not just mad at him. You had no right to tell her what you told her. My condition is my business. It isn’t your secret to tell. Not to Laurel, not to anyone. Did it occur to you that I didn’t want her to know that?_

“Oliver-“

He stormed right past his mother and went upstairs. He wasn’t going to listen to whatever she had to say, whatever excuse she was going to give. She was smart enough not to follow him. Thea wasn’t.

“Did you really need to do that?” she asked. “We get it, you have trauma you’re dealing with. You aren’t the only person with problems.”

_No, you don’t get it. None of you do. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Losing Dad? That was the easy part. None of you get it and none of you care._

“Don’t say that we don’t care.”

_You don’t though. Mom wants me to get ‘better’ so I can take over QC. Tommy wants his wingman back. You want the asshole older brother you had back. He’s not coming back, he’s gone._

“I don’t know why I even try to talk to you. You know, I felt closer to you when you were gone than I do right now.” Thea said before storming off.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on Oliver’s door. He opened it to find his mother standing there. “Where were you?”

_Out._

“Out where? Mr. Diggle didn’t seem to know where you were. You have to let him do his job.”

_He didn’t know because I snuck out. I don’t want or need a bodyguard. I’m not going to pretend that I do. I don’t know how to make it any clearer to you._

“I need-“

Oliver slammed the door in her face. This is where conversations always ended up with his mother. it was never about what Oliver wanted or needed, it was about what she needed. Or what QC needed. Or what ‘the family’ needed. Never about Oliver.

“Leave it alone, mom.” He heard Thea say from across the hall. “He wants to be a miserable mute for the rest of his life, let him.”

 

The next morning, Oliver came downstairs for breakfast. Luckily, everyone else had already left for the day so he didn’t need to deal with his mother or sister. Diggle was sitting in the dining room, waiting for him.

“Good morning, Mr. Queen.”

Oliver nodded back and began eating. About halfway through, he realized he hadn’t even ‘spoken’ to Diggle once. He might not have wanted him there, but he didn’t want to be rude. So far, all John had done was his job.

_It’s nothing personal. I want you to know that._

“I know.” It was frustrating for John to have a client that didn’t want his protection, as he tried to tell Moira with no success. “Your mother’s worried about losing you.”

_No, she’s angry things aren’t going the way she wants. My return wasn’t as the prodigal son she wanted._

“Your condition is-“

_My condition isn’t the problem. I’m doing just fine without my voice, and without her help or yours._

“Still, I have a job to do, and until your mother starts listening to you or fires me, I’m gonna do it.” He wasn’t stupid. He could tell Oliver was struggling with a lot of issues, PTSD and anxiety being the biggest ones. He also knew Mrs. Queen’s attempts to make him talk were doing more harm than good. At the same time, he wasn't Oliver's therapist and it wasn't his job to help Oliver recover. Still, he felt some sympathy for what he was going through.

“You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan. You want to know what I learned?”

_There's no place like home?_

“No, just the opposite. Home is a battlefield. Back home, they're all trying to get you. Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore.”

  
Since he was still worn out from all the excitement and action yesterday, Oliver decided to forego his usual habit of ditching Digg and instead wandered around the mansion and its grounds for the day. He didn’t have any pressing Hood business and wasn’t exactly in the mood to deal with going into down and coming across other people, or worse, the press.

It was a little after 3pm when Oliver began staring at the pink sticky note Felicity had given him. He wanted to text her, just to say hi, to make sure she had his number, but didn’t quite know what to say. Just saying ‘hi’ seemed lame. Asking her questions about herself might resort in her wanting to get to know him better and asking about the island. He didn’t have any questions about his phone to use as a cover. He settled on something short but nice and sent the text before immediately regretting acting so soon.

>>To: Felicity- Hey, it’s Oliver. You gave me your number but I forgot to give you mine.

Each time he read it, he had a different reaction. Was it too short? Too formal? Would she be mad he texted her out of the blue? Before he could work himself into too much of a panic, his phone dinged, showing he had a reply.

>>From: Felicity- Hi! Now I have your number :)

>>To: Felicity-I hope I’m not bothering you or anything.

>>From: Felicity- It’s been a slow day and it’s almost over, so no worries. Are we still on for Saturday?

>>To: Felicity-Yes, wouldn’t miss it.

>>From: Felicity-Good! Let me know where/when.

>>To: Felicity-I should let you decide that.

>>From: Felicity- It doesn’t matter to me. Jitters is fine, or we can go somewhere a little quieter/less busy.

He began to panic. He didn’t want to choose somewhere so public for this. Public meant other people would be around. They’d recognize him and ask questions. The truth about his condition would get out. Everyone would know, everyone would judge him. The paparazzi and everyone and their mother would have something to say about him. Not to mention the number of people who wouldn’t believe him or mock him for his trauma. Before he could work himself into a real panic attack, his phone buzzed again.

>>From: Felicity- The library’s usually quiet on Saturday mornings if that helps. They have private rooms we can use. You don’t need to decide now, just think about it.

>>To: Felicity- Ok, I’ll let you know.

“What are you smiling about?” Thea asked as she walked into the room. he quickly hid his phone and the smile dropped off his face a little bit. He shrugged. “Of course you aren’t going to tell me.”

_I wasn’t smiling about anything specific. Its just been a good day._

“Good day meaning?”

_It’s hard to explain, but it was a good day._ A good day meant Oliver didn’t have flashbacks or a panic attack. He didn’t get into arguments with people who didn’t grasp what he was going through. It meant he did something besides think about the island and hate himself for what happened there. _How about you?_

“I had school, so not great. I’m glad you’ve decided to stop moping.”

“Who’s stopped moping?” Moira asked as she entered the room.

“Ollie. He said he had a good day today.”

“You did?”

_Yeah, I didn’t really do anything, but it was still a pretty good day._

“I’m happy to hear that. The Bowens are coming over for dinner, so you might want to change.” She looked over at his sweatpants and T-shirt as she spoke.

He sighed and left the room. One step forward, two steps back. Two hours later, when Raisa came upstairs to fetch Oliver, he wasn’t there. An hour earlier he’d snuck out via a window in one of the guest rooms and headed to his father’s old steel factory. Maybe he would suit up and hit the streets tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity have their first lesson.

Oliver’s frustration with his mother boiled over into the Hood’s activities that night. More than a few would be purse-snatchers and drug dealers were on the receiving end of his anger. If they hadn’t been poisoning the city, Oliver might’ve felt bad about his actions, but they were, so he didn’t. He finished his patrol shortly before dawn and headed back to the mansion.

After a few hours of restless sleep, he went downstairs for breakfast and found himself face-to-face with his mother.

“You weren’t at dinner.”

_I never said I’d go._

“Your immaturity has lost its charm.” She said in a displeased tone. “Since you weren’t here, care to tell me where you were?”

_Out._

“That’s isn’t an answer, Oliver.”

_I’m 27 years old. I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself._

“Yes, you’re an adult. One who just came back from five years of isolation and can’t speak. Excuse me for worrying about you.”

_You don’t know the difference between worrying and smothering. I spent five years on my own, why would I want you or anyone watching my every move and judging everything I do?_

“I’m not judging your every-“ she began to say. He rolled his eyes, silently scoffed and walked away.

He spent the rest of the day locked in his room, avoiding everyone. The only person he spoke to was Felicity and that was to ask if they could meet at the library around 10 the next morning, which she agreed to.

 

Oliver left the mansion while everyone else was eating breakfast the next morning. He didn’t want to sit through yet another tense meal or have to explain where he was going when he excused himself. He was nervous, but trying to keep the feeling hidden.

As Digg drove, he looked at his charge in the backseat. Based on how restless Oliver was, he was either nervous about where they were going or excited. Perhaps both. In any case, it was a refreshing change from the normal broody billionaire.

“Where exactly are we heading, sir?” He asked as they reached the edge of town. Oliver had asked for a ride into the city, but hadn’t told Diggle where in the city.

_The library._

John didn’t think Oliver was a library kind of guy, but didn’t voice that opinion. His job was to keep Oliver safe, not comment on his social schedule. He focused back on the road as Oliver’s phone began to buzz. He had a text from Felicity.

>>From: Felicity- I’m on my way. If you get there before me, the rooms are on the second floor. Grab one and text me where you are.

>> To: Felicity- Ok, see you soon.

 

They reached the library at around 9:45. Oliver found an empty room on the second floor and waited inside. As he waited, he began to get more nervous. He was worried he’d have a flashback or panic attack in front of Felicity. Or that she’d realize how messed up he was and leave. Or ask about his speech or the island. The longer he sat, the more panicked he became. John noticed he was working himself into a frenzy.

“Mr. Queen, you need to breathe. Long and slow.”

He followed the advice and calmed down somewhat. Then, he saw the time. it was 10:10. She was ten minutes late, she wasn’t coming. She’d changed her mind. Of course she did. Why would she want to help or even know someone as fucked up as him? As his panic rose again, the door to the room opened.

“Sorry I’m late. There was construction down the street that took me longer to get here.” Felicity said. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

He took several deep breaths as he wrote his response. _I’m fine._

“If you say so.” She remarked, before turning to John. “Sorry. Hi, I’m Felicity Smoak.”

“John Diggle.” He then turned to Oliver. “Mr. Queen, I think I’ll wait outside while you two work.” He could tell Oliver was nervous to be around Felicity. He didn’t want to make his anxiety worse by making him feel more crowded. Besides, Felicity didn’t seem like much of a threat.

“How are you Oliver?” Felicity asked. She signed as she spoke.

“Fine.” He signed back.

“That’s good.” She said. “I think we should do kinda half immersion and half traditional teaching. Because there are some important signs you should know but I don’t wanna spend too long on basics or things you might already know. How does that sound?”

_What do you mean by immersion?_

“I teach you sign by using it when I’m also speaking. Also, you respond to me in sign whenever possible. It makes learning easier and seem more natural. Does that sound good?”

“Yes.” _I should warn you, I’m not the best student._

“Don’t sell yourself short.” She said. “Let’s see what signs you know.”

He knew the alphabet, some greetings, how to tell someone his name and ask theirs and some beginner ASL, like pronouns, please and thank you and how to ask how something is signed.

“That’s pretty good.”

“Thank you.”

They spent the next hour going over some more common signs and phrases. Ones that, in Felicity’s opinion, everyone should know. Like how to ask where the bathroom is or how to tell someone they’re signing too fast or to repeat themselves. They spent another hour conversing mostly in sign to give Oliver experience holding a conversation.

Diggle came into the room. “I hate to break this up, but your mother keeps calling.”

Oliver shot Felicity an apologetic look before standing up. “Thank you. See you next Saturday.”

“You’re welcome. Practice when you can and I’ll see you next week. Text me if you have any questions.” She told him as he left.

“So, sign language?” John said to Oliver as they got into the car.

_It seemed like a good idea. My mother doesn’t need to know._

“Hey, I’m your bodyguard, not your babysitter. She asked where you were, I said the library and that was it.”

He didn’t respond to that and they drove back to the mansion. Regardless of what he walked into when he got home, today had been a good day and he enjoyed his time with Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver continues to clash with his family and grows closer with Felicity.

“Where exactly have you been?”

_I met up with a friend._

“That’s good. Who, if I may ask? Tommy? Carter? Steve?” His therapist had indicated to Moira that a good sign that he was recovering was any attempts he made to return to his old life. Connecting with old friends, mentioning plans he had before the accident, reminiscing of any kind, any of it was a good sign and should be encouraged.

_No, it was a friend I met after I came back._

“Oh, that’s nice. Why didn’t you reach out to one of your older friends?” Dr. Brown hadn’t told her what Oliver making new friends meant. Did it mean he was adjusting or was it the precursor to him pushing everyone further away?

_I didn’t want to. I’m allowed to have more than one friend._ He wrote more than that, but Moira only read the first two sentences before she started to argue.

“I never said you were only allowed one friend. You’re putting words in my mouth.”

This reminded him of another issue he was having since coming back. Since he didn’t make any sounds, everyone found it easier to just not listen to him and only read half of what he wrote. It was the nonverbal equivalent of interrupting him mid-sentence to go on an unrelated tangent. If she had kept reading what he wrote, his mother would’ve known he made a few new friends, a slight exaggeration since Felicity was the only one he made, who made him feel normal. He reached out to said friend because he thought it was better than staying cooped up in the mansion and avoiding everyone there.

He didn’t stay talking with his mother for much longer and headed upstairs. After making a plan to deal with his current target, he decided to take a shower. Ever since returning, he felt like he couldn’t get warm. Hot showers always helped allieviate that feeling. He was moving around his room in only a towel when the door opened and Thea rushed in. she didn’t even try to knock.

“Ollie, I- where did you get those? Mom said there were scars, but-” she said upon seeing his scars. She was met by her brother’s very angry look. “What?”

_DON’T YOU KNOCK?_

“Oh, like you would’ve let me in.”

T _hat still doesn’t make it okay. You can’t just barge into someone’s room without at least pretending to care about their privacy._

“Fine, I’ll do that next time. What happened to you?”

_A lot. And that’s all I’m going to tell you. Once you know, you can never unknow it._

If she ever knew what he’d gone through, what he’d done to survive, she’d hate him. if anyone knew, they’d hate him. He could live with being estranged from certain people, but couldn’t stand the thought of losing them entirely.

“Is that why- is this why you stopped talking?”

_These are part of it, yes. Stop asking me about it. It doesn’t make things any easier._

“Ollie, I’m so sorry.”

He hated this. He hated feeling like this. He hated that this had to happen, she had to see his scars, to understand that he wasn’t messing around and wasn’t acting like this on a whim. She didn’t know what else to say, and forgot why she came in, so she left the room. Oliver’s more depressed and self-loathing thoughts began to creep in as he sat on his bed.

His family really should stop trying to bring the old Ollie back and try to get as far away from him as possible. He was a monster. He ruined everything he touched. He should’ve died instead of his dad. Or Sara. Or Shado. He didn’t deserve to live. He started spiraling down into the darkest parts of his mind when his phone chimed, letting him know he had a text.

 

>>From: Felicity- I hope today was helpful.

>>To: Felicity- It was. Thank you.

He felt like he couldn’t just leave the conversation at that, so he messaged her about something he considered a safe topic. Her tech. He didn’t like answering questions about himself but learning more about Felicity, and keeping things focused on her made things slightly easier for him.

>>To: Felicity- About that app of yours.

>>From: Felicity- We can talk about it next week, or you can stop by QC when you get a chance.

>>From: Felicity- Whichever works for you. I just can’t really explain it that well over text and I can’t walk you through it over the phone.

 

Monday morning, Oliver snuck into Queen Consolidated around 10. He didn’t drive in with Walter, since it might give his mother the wrong idea. He wasn’t interested in starting at the company, he just wanted Felicity’s help. Being the son of the founder and the stepson of the current CEO meant no one tried to stop or question him on his way to her cubicle. He knocked on the door so he wouldn’t startle her.

“Hi, Oliver.” She said warmly.

‘Good morning Felicity.’ he signed. _I wanted to know more about your app. Is now a bad time?_

“No, I’m just updating some of the cybersecurity protocols. I can do that in my sleep.” She answered. “Please don’t repeat that to your mom or Mr. Steele.”

_Your secret’s safe with me._

“Thanks.” She said before launching into a spiel about the app she created, what features it had and what it can do. “-it will read aloud what you write, and only what you write, so keep that in mind.” He tilted his head to the side in confusion. “It can’t read minds. If you spell something wrong or leave words out, it won’t know that that wasn’t what you meant, assume its right and say it. For example, if you mean to write ‘I can’t wait to see it’ but you leave out certain words, it’ll just say ‘I can’t see it’. If you’re writing your name, but you accidentally type an ‘s’, it’ll announce ‘my name is olives Queen’. That kind of thing.”

_Well, I don’t want people to think my name is Olives._ He wrote. He wore a grin when he showed the notepad to her. He learned a long time ago how important facial expressions were. Both on the island, and during his one year off of it in Moscow, being able to read someone’s intentions from their face kept him alive. If he wanted Felicity to know he was joking, he had to show it via his expression.

“Yeah, you don’t look like an ‘olives’ to me.”

_Is it okay if I don’t use it right away? The app._ Oliver liked the idea of the app. He liked having the option but that didn’t mean he was determined to use it.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

_You seem proud of it ~~and I don’t~~ but I’m not sure if I want to use it yet. ~~I don’t know if I’m ready for~~ I don’t want to hurt your feelings._

“You won’t hurt my feelings. I didn’t tell you about it because I wanted you to use it, I told you because I wanted to offer you the option. Whether you use it or not is your choice.”

He thanked her and stood up to leave. ‘I’ll see you on Saturday.’

“Yes, you will. 10am, I promise not to be late this time. hopefully.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity grow closer, questions are asked and Thea makes a suggestion.

The following Saturday Oliver and Digg arrived at the library to find Felicity in the same private room as last time waiting for them. She looked up when the door opened and greeted the two men excitedly.

Oliver had spent the last week spending as little time around his mother as possible. He realized days ago that his therapist was telling Moira empty platitudes she wanted to hear and nothing that was helpful for Oliver. Everything he said revolved around getting the old Oliver back, not helping Oliver really heal. Thea had gone out of her way to be more sensitive towards Oliver over the last few days. It made things awkward, but Oliver could tell she was really trying as opposed to just doing the bare minimum. He’d spent some more time with Tommy, but it was mostly watching sports at the mansion and not leaving the grounds. He continued to hunt names on his father’s list, much to Digg’s annoyance every time he evaded him.

Digg said hello to Felicity before preparing to leave the room. “You can stay, if you want. I mean, if Oliver’s okay with that. I don’t want you to feel like you have to go.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but this is for Mr. Queen and I suspect he’d like the privacy.” John answered before closing the door. Moira had tried to get more details out of John last Saturday about where Oliver was and who he’d been with. He’d already realized that her reasons for asking weren’t entirely selfless and chose to be as brief as possible. Oliver had met with a friend at the library because it was quiet. John didn’t know how he met this friend or what they talked about because he was keeping an eye out for any threats against Oliver. She couldn’t reasonably argue against John doing his job instead of eavesdropping.

“I don’t think he likes me.” Felicity said to Oliver after Digg left. As always, she signed as she spoke, giving Oliver a more immersive experience.

 _He doesn’t not like you._ He scribbled out. He put the pen down and began to sign. ‘Good morning.’

“How are you doing today?”

‘Ok. You?’

“I’m doing great. Let’s see, what did we cover last time?” She asked him. “I hope you practiced.”

‘I did. Maybe not enough.’

“It’s okay. Its hard to get into the habit. Especially if you don’t have someone to sign with.” She said. “Show me what you remember.”

They worked for an hour before Oliver wrote down a question he’d been thinking about for the last week. Everyone wanted him to share what happened. Everyone, it seemed, except her.

_Why haven’t you asked me about it?_

“The island?” she asked, wanting clarification. He nodded. “Do you want me to ask about it?” he shook his head. “That’s why. I don’t ask because I don’t want you to feel like you have to answer. If you ever want to tell me, you can. You can tell me anything.”

‘You don’t want to know?’

“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable by asking. What I want doesn’t matter, its your story Oliver. You get to decide who you tell it to and when. I don’t get to demand answers from you, nobody does.”

‘I wish everyone felt that way.’’

“I’m sorry they don’t. I hope they’ll realize it eventually.” She said. “This got really serious, didn’t it? Do you want to call it a day or-?” She left the question hanging, waiting to see what Oliver would say.

_That’s probably a good idea. I’m sorry._

“You don’t need to apologize. In fact, you shouldn’t. You’re dealing with some heavy things. Not everyone understands what that’s like. It’s never an easy or linear process.”

‘But you do?’

“That’s a story for another day.” Felicity said sadly. It wasn’t an easy thing to talk about, even years later.

They said their goodbyes and Oliver and John left. On the way to the car, Oliver wrote something down and showed it to Digg.

“I don’t dislike Felicity. I assumed you wanted to be alone. And you’d feel crowded in a room that small with two other people.”

Oliver didn’t respond, but he was probably right. With his PTSD and anxiety, he didn’t like enclosed spaces. He also didn’t like feeling like he was being watched, which is why he escaped from Digg at least once a day. Having a bodyguard didn’t make his paranoia any easier.

 

For Oliver, the next few days were exactly the same as the last week. Moira wanted to know everything he was doing and lectured him for forgetting his latest therapy appointment. He didn’t forget, he just chose not to go. Tommy was still trying to talk him into returning to the party scene. Thea continued to try and repair her relationship with Oliver. She was trying, so he met her halfway. It helped that she stopped asking him about the island, which made him less defensive. Over those few days, Oliver took down two more names on his father’s list. Their crimes weren’t as widespread as Adam Hunt or deadly as Martin Somers, but they had failed the city and needed to face justice.

He was sitting in the dining room eating breakfast on Wednesday morning when Thea sat down next to him. “So, what do you do during the day?”

_Shouldn’t you be at school?_

“I’m going in late, doctor’s appointment. What do you do during the day?”

_I read, try to catch up on things I missed. Go for jogs around the property. Watch movies in the family room. On occasion, I go into town to see a friend._

“You should call them. See if they can meet you for lunch.” She suggested. Oliver shot her a look. He didn’t know why she was suggesting it. Did she think something was going on? “What? Whoever this friend is, when you came back from seeing them last time, you were in a good mood. Besides, this place is practically a museum and you’re gonna get cabin fever. Its just a suggestion.”

“Thea, we need to go.” Moira said, coming into the room. “Good morning Oliver.” They left and Oliver finished his breakfast. Maybe Thea’s suggestion was worth a try.

>>To: Felicity- Do you wanna get coffee today?

He sat staring at the phone until she replied. What would she think of his text? Would she interpret it the wrong way? How did he want her to interpret it?

>>From: Felicity- I never say no to coffee. Is everything okay?

>>To: Felicity- Yeah, everything’s fine. Just wondering if you were free.

>>From: Felicity- Ok, just checking. I can meet you around noon. Jitters?

>>To: Felicity- Do you know of another place? They’re always busy and I don’t do well with crowds.

He regretted the message as soon as he sent it. He shouldn’t have told her about his dislike of crowds. It would remind her of how damaged he was and she’d think he couldn’t function.

>>From: Felicity- There’s a small, independent coffee place down the street from Jitters. And their coffee tastes better. Also, they have really good sandwiches. I’ll text you the address.

 

Oliver and John arrived at the coffeehouse at 11:45. Oliver wanted to get there before Felicity and have time to get a table and calm down. He settled for a table along one of the walls, close to the exit but not too close to the doors. He was just starting to relax when the door opened and Felicity walked in.

“Hey.” She said sitting down.

‘Hi, Felicity. How are you?’

“I’m doing well. Did you order yet?”

‘No, I just got here.’ Oliver avoided ordering in public as much as possible. It felt awkward having to write his order down. He was also worried the staff would recognize him, make a scene and then everyone would know about his issues.

“What do you want? I’ll go order for both of us.” Felicity offered. Since the only drink he’d ever tried was plain, black coffee, he ordered that. She nodded and went to get in line, wanting to  look over the food options while she was waiting.

After a few minutes, Oliver saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over. he thought Felicity was coming back to the table. He found himself face-to-face with Laurel instead.

“Hello Oliver.” He waved. “I see you’re still pretending to be mute.”

“Excuse me?” Felicity’s voice came from behind her. She moved around Laurel, put both coffee orders and her sandwich down, and stepped in between her and Oliver. She crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak further. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh.
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Laurel have a confrontation.

“I see you’re still pretending to be mute.”

The tentative smile on Oliver’s face fell off when Laurel said that. He wasn’t faking, he wasn’t pretending, and he wasn’t exaggerating. For five years, all he’d wanted to do was call his mother and tell her he was alive. He wanted to return home, hug Thea and tell her how much he missed her. He wanted to joke with Tommy that he was right about boats sucking. He wanted to do all of those things, but he couldn’t.

“Excuse me?” Felicity’s voice came from behind her. She moved around Laurel, put both coffee orders and her sandwich down, and stepped in between her and Oliver. She crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak further. She didn’t yell or even raise her voice. She didn’t want to cause a scene, not when she could see Oliver was already on edge. “Why would you say something like that?”

“Who are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. Who are you? More importantly, who do you think you are?”

“Laurel Lance.” She stated.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me? Because it doesn’t.”

“Look, you don’t know our his-“

“I don’t care what your history is. Oliver’s a friend of mine. He was sitting here, minding his own business and you decided to come over here and harass him.”

“I’m not harassing him. I’m a lawyer and-“

“What does your job have to do with anything? Last time I checked, being a lawyer doesn’t mean you can’t break the law. And it doesn’t exempt you from behaving like a decent human being.”

“He’s faking a mental illness!”

“Is he? How do you know that? Are you a psychologist?”

“Because I know him. There’s no way his five years away made him so traumatized he went mute. This is just another excuse he has to get out of admitting he messed up.”

“No, you knew him. And you don’t really know what happened to him over the last few years, so how can you say he is or isn’t traumatized? And no one fakes being mute. Deaf or blind, yes, mute, no.” Felicity said. “On top of that, your whole attitude needs go.”

“My attitude?”

“I don’t care what your history is. I can tell you don’t like him, though. Rather than get your coffee and be on your way, you decided to come over here and confront him when he wasn’t doing anything. Mocking him and his condition, accusing him like you did, I think that shows what kind of person you really are more than anything else.” She said. “You wanna yell at him for whatever he did, fine. But there’s a time and place for that, and I think you know this wasn’t it.”

Laurel didn’t respond and left in a huff. Next time she spoke to Oliver, she’d need to be sure his new friend wasn’t around. Clearly, she was protective of Oliver and insisted on defending him. She was still sure he was faking it, and until proven otherwise, would treat him as such.

After Laurel had left the building, Felicity sat down in the seat in front of   Oliver. “Sorry that I went a little ‘grr’.”

‘Thank you.’

“You don’t have to thank me. She’s lucky I didn’t use my Loud Voice. I mean, why would you be faking?”

_Your Loud Voice?_

“The voice I use when I’m angry. A lot of people find it scary. I didn’t use it because I didn’t wanna cause a scene. Well, a bigger scene I suppose. Are you okay?”

‘Fine.’ _It’s frustrating that she doesn’t believe me. Or that she thinks I’d go to this extreme to avoid talking to her. I wasn’t the best person before the accident, but I wouldn’t sink that low, even then._

“I know you wouldn’t. I don’t think the problem is really you.” she said, which earned her a confused look. “The thing she’s angry about, whatever it is, she had five years to let it stew. Five years to focus on it and become more and more angry and build up this false version of you in her head to justify it. The problem isn’t you, it’s her.”

_It’s kinda me. What I did to her was wrong and she deserves an apology._

“Whatever you may have done, it doesn’t justify her accosting you in public or mocking the situation you’re in.”

He wasn’t sure that was true but dropped the matter. They talked a little more, but what had happened hung over their heads and neither wanted to break the silence and discuss it further. They said their goodbyes and Felicity went back to work. A few minutes after she left, Oliver sent her a text.

>>To: Felicity- Thank you, for standing up for me.

>>From: Felicity- That’s what friends are for.

He wasn’t completely sure that was true. His mom and Tommy both stood there when Laurel confronted him at the mansion, despite knowing he hadn’t gone to see Laurel for a reason. They also definitely suspected he wouldn’t react well to such a confrontation because he very clearly had anxiety. Thea had been the same way, but was working on it.

>>From: Felicity- Sorry that the way I handled it made you feel uncomfortable.

>>To: Felicity- What do you mean?

>>From: Felicity- I know you don’t really like drawing attention to yourself. Other people started looking over to see what was happening. I noticed that was making you nervous.

>> To: Felicity- You didn’t do it on purpose and you were trying to help. I’m not angry or anything.

 

With the excitement over with, Oliver and John drove back to the mansion. Oliver went up to his room and picked up the book he’d just started reading. In the last two months, he’d read more than he had in the two years before the island. The practice helped calm him down and allowed him to escape into another world for a little while. He was about halfway through the novel when he heard his mother calling his name. Closing the book, he left his room and went to find her. She was standing in the living room with her arms crossed. Oliver’s ‘therapist’ was sitting behind her, looking sheepish.

“Would you like to explain what’s going on with you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?  
> I know everyone wanted to witness the Loud Voice, but Felicity knew it wasn't the time or place for that (unlike Laurel).


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moira confronts Oliver, Thea meets someone new and Oliver makes a long overdue decision.

Oliver was about halfway through the novel when he heard his mother calling his name. Closing the book, he left his room and went to find her. She was standing in the living room with her arms crossed. Oliver’s ‘therapist’ was sitting behind her, looking sheepish.

“Would you like to explain what’s going on with you?”

He didn’t respond and simply blinked slowly at his mother. He knew she was going to say whatever she wanted to say and whatever response or excuse he gave wouldn’t matter.

“Dr. Brown told me you haven’t been to any of your appointments lately.”

He was aware of that and did it intentionally. He never said he would go. He never asked for a therapist. It was his mother’s idea to contact the doctor and his mother kept insisting on him talking to the man. The whole thing was a waste of time, in his opinion, and all the advice and recommendations the doctor gave during that first session were useless in his opinion.

“Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

_I never said I’d see him._

“Oliver, we agreed-“

“Hey, what’s going on?” Thea said coming into the room.

“Nothing, your brother and I are having a discussion about his therapy.”

Oliver tapped Thea on the shoulder and handed a piece of paper to her. “You want me to read this?” He nodded, so she read it out loud. “We, and that’s underlined for emphasis, didn’t agree. We didn’t discuss it. You demanded I do it. I never said I would.”

Oliver didn’t want or need a therapist and he definitely didn’t need that therapist. Given Brown’s habit of disclosing things to Moira, he wondered if the man was just weak willed or unethical. He was debating bringing that matter up to someone else, like the American Psychiatric Association.

“Oliver, its not that-“

“Why are you making him do this? He doesn’t want to.”

“Thea, this is a very delicate situation.”

“I know that, but if he doesn’t want to go to therapy, he shouldn’t have to. He’s an adult, he can make his own choices. He clearly doesn’t want to, why are you trying to make him?” she asked. “Your insistence isn’t going to make him want to do it. if anything, it’s making him avoid it even more. Why are you so focused on this?”

“I want my son back!”

“We got him back. He’s standing right there.” Thea said, pointing to Oliver.

The archer, meanwhile, heard his mother say that, turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. It was one thing for Moira to talk about how much she missed ‘the old Oliver’ but to claim the Oliver who’d returned from Lian Yu wasn’t her son anymore hurt deeply. It both hit on everything he felt insecure about and reminded him of how alienated he felt from his mother now. He needed to move, to do something to clear his head.

Thea found Oliver in the backyard, running laps around the property. She waited for him to notice her before saying anything.

“Are you okay?” he shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Wanna talk about it?” Another shake. “Okay. Let’s go see what’s on TV.”

The siblings were halfway through watching _The Goonies,_ which had been one of Oliver’s favorite movies as a kid, when Thea turned to him. “This friend of yours, the one you went to see today, can I meet them?” He looked nervous about answering, so Thea backtracked a little. “I don’t mean, like, right now, but can I meet them soon?” He nodded but didn’t say anything else. Both of them spent the rest of the day avoiding Moira.

Oliver took his anger towards his mother and funneled it into his activities as the Hood that night. His father’s list had plenty of names on it, and he had plenty of frustrations to work out. On a whim, he decided to try out Felicity’s app on tonight’s target. It didn’t work perfectly, but with the app, he could say more than ‘You have failed this city’. Him confronting his marks and telling them what he wanted from them and why worked better than his practice of sending threatening messages until now. Even if he didn’t use the app as Oliver Queen, it was useful for his night job.

After a few more days of Moira trying to get Oliver to see things her way, Tommy attempting to get ‘his old wingman back out there’, and Laurel trying to get Oliver alone to confront him, the archer had had enough. Thea was still supportive as ever, but there were too many unsupportive people around him for her to be very helpful. He asked Digg to drive them into the city. He needed to ask Felicity for another favor and wanted Thea to meet his new friend. The car pulled into QC’s garage.

“Why are we at Queen Consolidated? I thought you didn’t want to work here?”

 _My friend works here and I need to ask for a favor. I also want you to meet her._ Oliver said as they got out of the car.

“Oh, your friend is a woman.” Thea said with a hint of suggestiveness. Oliver threw her a look that said ‘its not like that’. Her smile dropped a little bit. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to- let’s go meet her.”

Oliver led the way as the trio made their way to the IT floor and found Felicity’s office. He knocked on the open door and Felicity’s head shot up from her computer.

“Oh, hi Oliver. Hey, Digg. Hi, girl I haven’t met before.” Felicity said. Oliver began signing something to her, which surprised Thea. “Oh, so this is Thea. Nice to meet you, I’m Felicity Smoak.”

“Nice to meet you too. You know sign language Ollie?”

“He knew I signed, so I’ve been teaching him for the last few weeks.”

‘Please, don’t tell mom. She wouldn’t understand.’

Felicity relayed the message to Thea with a frown on her face. “I won’t. It’s- thank you, Felicity.”

“For what?”

“Well, since you’ve been helping Ollie out, since you two became friends, he’s seemed happier. So, I guess thank you for being his friend.”

“I’m happy to have a friend like him.” She responded. “What brings both of you by? Not that you have to have reason. I mean, maybe you just wanted me to meet Thea, but if that wasn’t the only reason you came by, I didn’t want to- sorry, that happens sometimes, the babbling.”

Thea, Oliver and Digg all had amused looks on their faces. “Ollie said he wanted me to meet you, I asked a few days ago if I could meet his new friend. He also said something about wanting to ask for a favor.”

‘I want to move out.’ He signed. ‘I was hoping you and Speedy could help me.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's decided to move out. How will his family react?

‘I want to move out.’ He signed. ‘I was hoping you and Speedy could help me.’

“You want to move out?” Felicity asked. Thea turned to look at her brother and asked the same thing.

He began to feel the room get smaller as they asked him that. He’d thought long and hard about this, but he didn’t take into account their reactions. His anxiety didn’t make him good with confrontations or having to explain his side of things. the walls started to close in and he felt a panic attack about to start. Was he being stupid? Oversensitive? Would Thea hate him? Think he was abandoning her?

Digg stepped around both ladies and started talking. “Hey, hey, Oliver. Look at me. Felicity, Thea, take a step back. It’s okay, Oliver. Just breathe.”

After several moments of silence and Oliver taking many deep breaths, it seemed his panic attack had been stopped in its tracks and he could focus again. Thea and Felicity both began to apologize.

“I didn’t mean to say it like that, I wasn’t expecting that to be the favor.”

“Sorry, Ollie, I- I didn’t mean to make you-“

Oliver shook his head and started waving his hands back and forth, in the universal gesture of ‘forget I said anything’.  Wanting to move out was stupid.

“No, you want to move out. That’s perfectly fine. Let’s talk about it.” Felicity said. “Remember what I said about your feelings being important too?”

_I can’t stay there. With the way Mom keeps acting, and what she said, I can’t. it’s just making things worse._

Thea nodded in understanding. Felicity raised an eyebrow at what he’d written. Clearly something was going on that he didn’t want to share. As curious as she was, he didn’t want to talk about it so she wouldn’t press.

“I’ll help you look for a place.”

“Me too.” Thea agreed.

“I know we haven’t been friends for long, but if you need to, I have a spare room you can stay in.” Felicity suggested. She didn’t know what was going on at Oliver’s house, but she sensed he was damaging his own mental health by staying.

‘I don’t want to trouble you.’

“You wouldn’t be. You don’t have to take me up on the offer, but its there if you need it or change your mind.” She assured him.

“Ok, lets talk details.” Thea said, wanting to move away from the heavy stuff for a while. “Apartment? Condo? What features do you want?”

They spoke for several hours while Felicity worked and Thea had a list of some things Oliver was looking for. The Queen siblings went home, and went their separate ways. Thea started looking online for places that matched Oliver’s criteria. Oliver went to his room, wanting to distract himself from his racing thoughts. Planning calmed his mind somewhat, so he planned who his next target would be. When that didn’t work, he began packing. He wanted to have a bag ready to go in case things at the mansion got even worse and he needed to leave immediately. Having a go-bag made it easier for him to deal with his hypervigilance.

The next day, Oliver only left his room for meals. Around 4pm, his mother came into his room and told him Laurel was there to see him. He told her he didn’t want to see Laurel, remembering the last time he saw her and what she’d said. He wasn’t sure that his mom wouldn’t ignore him, so he locked himself in the bathroom for an hour before texting Thea to make sure Laurel wasn’t there.

Nothing important happened over the next few days He worked out, avoided his mother and read. He and Thea visited a few of the places he was looking at in secret. Roughly a week after he’d gone to see Felicity, Oliver was walking towards the kitchen when his mother accosted him.

“Care to explain why Jean Loring sent leasing paperwork over for you to sign to rent a penthouse in the city?”

He froze and got a deer in the headlights look. It was now or never. _I’ve decided to move out._

“No, you aren’t moving out.”

_Yes, I am._

“No, you aren’t. I won’t allow it.”

_I’m an adult. You can’t stop me._

“You’re an adult without a job, living off of our family’s money. If you leave, you’re cut off.”

Logically, Oliver knew she couldn’t do that. He was 27, he’d gained access to his trust fund at 25. Short of having him declared incompetent, which she couldn’t actually do, his mother had no say in this. It was the implication that made him panic though. Would she stop him from seeing or talking to Thea? Was this all a means of maintain control? What lengths would she go to to keep him at the mansion? He started to get agitated and then Thea came into the hallway. She could tell Oliver didn’t feel comfortable with the conversation that was happening.

“What are you two arguing about?”

“Your brother wants to move out.”

“Okay, and? He’s 27 years old.”

“I won’t allow it.”

“You won’t let him?” Thea asked incredulously.

“No, I won’t.” She said firmly.

The brunette nodded before taking her cellphone out and dialing a number. She’d need back-up for this. “Hey, can you come to the mansion?....he did and….no, it didn’t….he could really use some support…..ok, I’ll see you soon.” Thea hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Moira demanded to know.

“A friend of Ollie’s.”  

Across town, Felicity hung up her phone and got into her car. Thea hadn’t told her exactly what was going on, but from her tone, it wasn’t good. She still hadn’t gotten the whole story about why Oliver felt he needed to move out, but something told her it would make her furious.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Queen family meets Felicity, and she has some things to say.

Luckily, Felicity had the foresight to text John that she was coming over to the mansion. She’d never been there before and didn’t want to have to deal with any issues getting onto the property. It would just mean it took her longer to get to Oliver. Digg replied with just ‘ok’ so she’d know he’d seen the text. She texted back asking how bad the situation was, but didn’t get a response.

Soon enough, Felicity pulled into the driveway leading up to the Queen mansion. Digg was outside waiting and waved her inside, past the other members of the security team.

“Do you know what happened?”

“He told his mother he wanted to move out and she wasn’t happy. She’s threatening to cut him off and he started to shut down.”

“Oh.” She said as she followed him further into the house. They reached a formal sitting room, where Oliver was seated on the couch, Thea was next to him and a woman she recognized from the news, Moira Queen, was standing. “Oliver?”

“Who are you?” Moira asked, less than politely.

“I’m a friend of your son’s.” she answered before walking past her to get closer to Oliver. “Are you okay?”

‘No.’ he signed.

‘Do you want to leave?’ she signed.

‘Yes, but she won’t let me. She wants to cut me off. What if she doesn’t let me see Thea again?’

‘I don’t think you or Thea would let that happen.’

“What exactly are you doing?” Moira asked.

“Talking to Oliver.” Felicity said in a confused tone.

Tommy, who’d come into the room shortly after Felicity, spoke up. “Since when does Ollie know sign language?”

The blonde turned to Oliver and silently asked him if it was okay for her to tell them the truth. He nodded. “Since he asked me to teach it to him.”

“Oliver, we agreed-“

‘No, you agreed. I wanted to learn ASL, so I found someone to teach me.’ Felicity interpreted for him.

“Well, while I’m sure he appreciates your help, he won’t be needing it anymore.”

“Isn’t that for him to decide?” She responded. “Just like where he lives is for him to decide.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know that Oliver wants to move out. He told you about his plans and you told him he couldn’t leave. Despite the fact that he’s a 27-year old, fully functioning adult.”

“That’s what I said.” Thea remarked from the couch.

“Oliver can’t function on his own, he-“

“Doesn’t talk, I know. And while that’s difficult, its not as bad as you seem to think it is. He can still hear, he can see, he can feed himself, clothe himself, take care of his personal hygiene. The only thing he can’t do is talk, which he’s figured out ways to work around.” she said. “He’s an adult. I’m sure he has access to his trust fund, making him financially independent, and his condition doesn’t hinder his ability to take care of himself. What’s the problem with him moving out?”

“I won’t allow it.”

“Again, he’s an adult.”

Tommy stepped in, wanting to diffuse the situation. “Look, you and Oliver haven’t known each other for very long, but-“

“No, I haven’t. But he is my friend and I defend my friends. Whatever she said to him made him feel unsafe here, so we’re gonna get to the bottom of it.”

‘Forget it, Felicity. They won’t listen. They never do.’

“What do you mean?”

‘I keep telling them that I’m not the Oliver that left, but they don’t get it. Tommy wants me to use the island as a way to pick up women. My mom wants me to take over QC. I’ve told them, but they don’t listen.’ He said, not looking at anyone. ‘My mom hired a therapist I don’t want, and he told her everything that happened during our sessions. She wants to know where I am all the time and doesn’t understand why I might want privacy or to be alone after so long isolated. I tell her I don’t wanna see Laurel but she keeps letting her come over. She doesn’t even look at me when we try to have a conversation.’

“What?” She said with an edge to her voice.

‘She doesn’t look at me. She’ll read what I write down, most of the time not all of it, but doesn’t look at me when she talks anymore.’

“Do you have a bag or something packed?” She asked Oliver, who nodded. “’Go get it.” He left, feeling Tommy and his mother’s eyes on his back. She’d heard enough. It was Loud Voice Time. “He’s leaving.”

“No, he’s-“

“No, he’s leaving. He wants to leave, and frankly, I’m starting to think its better for him mentally if he does.”

“What does that mean?”

“Ok. let’s go down the line.” She pointed to Tommy first. “You’re an asshole. He doesn’t want to see Laurel. He doesn’t wanna go bar crawling or use his trauma to get laid. He keeps telling you this, and you still don’t seem to get it. He’s different now, accept it or get out of his life.” She then turned to Thea. “You’re fine, because you’re trying. We can talk about some of the stuff that happened when he first got back later.” Lastly, she turned to Moira. “You, I don’t even have the right words to express how angry I am at you on his behalf.”

“What do you-?”

“One, you’re controlling. He shouldn’t need to tell you where he is every second of everyday. And he’s ditching his bodyguard half the time so that Mr. Diggle can’t report back to you. Two, you clearly don’t respect him. He said he didn’t want a therapist and you just ignored him. The therapist you got him should lose his license for sharing anything that happened during one of their sessions. You keep trying to get him to talk to Laurel despite the fact he’s said multiple times that he doesn’t want to see her. Having met her, I don’t blame him. You seem to think he’s just going to ‘snap out of it’ when it comes to his condition, but that’s not how trauma works. Then, there’s the talking thing.”

“Talking thing?”

“When you two have a conversation. You read what he writes but you rarely read all of it. You read the first sentence or two but don’t bother to be the rest. That’s the nonverbal equivalent to me shouting at the top of my lungs every time you open your mouth. On top of that, when you talk to him, you don’t even have the basic human decency to look at him. You talk to the wall, or to Thea when you’re addressing Oliver. How would you feel if someone did that to you? Why should he want to talk with you or even be around you when you act like that?”

“Who do you think you are?”

“I think I’m a friend of Oliver’s who’s tired of people treating him like crap for not being an irresponsible, reckless and easy to control idiot after going through five years of trauma. You might be his mother, and Tommy, you might’ve known him since you were three, but that doesn’t mean its okay for you to treat him like that.”

By now, Oliver had come back down with his bag. She stood to leave, with Moira, Tommy and Thea following behind them.

“Ollie, you can’t-“

“Oliver, be reasonable-“

“Text me when you feel up to it.”

Oliver turned around, gave Thea a short hug and continued walking. They got into Felicity’s car and she drove away from the house.

“Mr. Diggle, tell Mr. Thompson to close and lock the front gate until further notice.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, ma’am.” Digg told her. “They are trying to leave. Doing anything that keeps them from leaving can be considered false imprisonment, such as locking the gate.” The former soldier doubted Felicity would take things that far, or that they’d have much of a case, but Moira was all about image, and the story wouldn’t make the Queen family look very good.

 

Felicity stopped at a red light and Oliver tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t have done that.’

“You didn’t want me to help you?” She asked, a little hurt.

‘No, I’m glad you helped, but this could be bad for you. You work for my family’s company. My mom could have you fired, and blacklisted.’

“She could, but it wouldn’t be very smart of her.” She admitted. “Even if she does, it was worth it. I meant what I said about people not treating you like crap. If I lose my job because I stood up for my friend, I’m okay with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?  
> \-----------------------------  
> To clarify: its very rude, where I live, not to look at someone when you speak to them. It's also incredibly rude to only acknowledge an interpreter and not the person you're having a conversation with. Yes, the interpreter (ASL or otherwise) is there for a reason/job, but that doesn't mean its okay to pretend that the person they're interpreting for should be ignored. Moira's doing a version of that, and Felicity knows that's not okay.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver have a frank discussion, and Moira doesn't get her way (again).

Oliver stared straight ahead of him until he felt the car come to a complete stop. He couldn't understand why  Felicity had defended him so strongly against his family. Yes, they were friends, but she’d only known him for a few weeks. He wasn't sure he was worth the risk of her losing her job.

They'd stopped outside of a small condo in a middle class neighborhood of Starling. Felicity turned her car off and turned to Oliver, who'd been frozen since they’d left the mansion.

“Well, it's not much, but it's home.”

‘Thank you, Felicity’

“You don't need to thank me. I hate to say it, but staying where you were, it wasn't good for you. Having Thea around helped some, but you were dealing with too many others who either didn't believe your condition was real, or minimized it.”

‘They were trying their best.’

“No, they weren't. I've met too many people like them before, I know the difference.” She sighed. “The way you were being treated was bad for your mental health. And trying to get ‘the old Ollie’ back probably set your recovery back significantly. Therapy’s about learning to live with trauma, not pretending it never happened.”

Felicity led Oliver inside her condo and showed him the guest room. It wasn't much, but it made Oliver feel safer than he did at the mansion. He thought it might be because he knew she wasn't a threat and wouldn't make his anxiety worse. He tried to ignore the warm feeling inside of him every time he saw Felicity. 

 

Felicity knew she might go into work tomorrow only to get escorted out by security. It was possible, but given what her contract said, it wasn't likely. Even if she did get fired, she wouldn't regret it. She'd stood up for a friend who needed it. Besides, she had plenty of other projects, not related to QC, that were making money.

* * *

 

**Queen Mansion**

Moira and Tommy were still standing in the foyer in shock. They had no idea what had just happened.

“Who was that woman?”

Both turned to Thea for answers. “Her names Felicity. She's a friend of Ollie’s.”

“And you called her because?”

“He needed someone in his corner other than me.”

“Well, whoever this Felicity is, she's a fool if-”

“Felicity? As in Felicity Smoak?” Walter, who'd just arrived home from a business meeting, asked.

“You know her?”

“Yes, she works for the company.”

“I want that woman fired!”

“Why? Because she stood up for Ollie and didn't let you walk all over him?” Thea asked angrily. “And you wonder why he wanted to leave.”

“Clearly, I missed something.” Walter remarked.

“Ollie wanted to move out. Mom tried to stop him and made some threats. He started having a panic attack, so I called Felicity, who's a friend of his. She stood up for him and they left a little while ago.”

“That woman is incredibly rude and-”

“She told you and Tommy that your behavior towards Oliver wasn't helping him and that you need to accept that he's different now. She only did that after you made it clear your didn't care what Oliver wanted and kept arguing with her.”

“Still, I want her fired.”

“That would be a big mistake. She could sue for wrongful termination, since you don't hold a position at the company and i’d be firing her for something that has nothing to do with her performance or behavior at work. It would also cost us millions of dollars since we use some of her proprietary software for internal uses and we’d need to either pay a higher price to use it or develop something else after she stopped working there. Not to mention the number of projects we’d need to scrap that she worked on, since she retains legal ownership of those projects, as stated in her iron clad contract.”

Queen Consolidated was jumping to hire Felicity the second she graduated. Her choice came down to QC or Wayne Enterprises. Then, QC offered her what Wayne wouldn't, she’d keep ownership of anything she developed. They were too focused on snapping up the purported next Steve Jobs to consider a less extreme option.

“So, we can't do anything.”

“You could try taking what she said seriously and changing your behavior.” Thea said before sauntering away.

Moira and Tommy were left standing in the foyer. Moira was too busy feeling insulted that someone had stood up to her to think about anything that was said. Tommy was struggling to understand what had just happened. Did Felicity have a point? Had he been ignoring the clear signs Oliver had been giving out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity talks with Walter about what happened while Moira refuses to give up.

The day after Oliver had moved into Felicity’s guest room, the blonde woke up and went into work like normal. Yes, there was a very slim chance she could get fired for what she did, but she wasn’t going to hide from anyone. If they were going to fire her, they’d have to tell her in person.

She got to her office and started checking her emails. She also began processing help desk tickets, since it was her day to do that in the rotation. She was so busy doing that, she didn’t notice as an hour and a half flew by. Then, there was a knock on her door. She looked up to see Walter Steele there.

“Good morning, Ms. Smoak.”

“Mr. Steele, hi.” She said politely. She was trying not to show how nervous she really was. While her contract was ironclad, QC had managed to work around those before when they really wanted to.

“I was hoping to speak with you about a personal matter.”

“It’s about Oliver, isn’t it?” she asked. “Or better yet, my coming to his defense last night. This is probably the part where you fire me.”

“You aren’t fired. I don’t know what happened when you arrived at the mansion last night or what was said. But I can’t, and I won’t, fire one of our best employees for personal reasons. Your contract says so. Your friendship with Oliver has nothing to do with your performance at work or your behavior while in the office. And I’ve always believed one’s personal life should be separate from their professional one.”

“Okay. Uh, thanks for not firing me.” She wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to respond.

“At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite and ignoring that line of separation I just mentioned, could I ask you to pass one message along to Oliver?”

“Yeah.” She said, hesitantly.

“Could you ask him to message me, when he feels up to it? I understand he may need some time to think about it, but please tell him I’d like to speak with him.”

“Can I be honest?” Felicity asked. Walter nodded. “It might take him a while.”

“Understandable. I won’t keep you from work any longer.” He said before leaving her office.

Laurel walked into the mansion like she owned the place. Up until now, she’d come over to try and see Oliver. Today, however, she’d been invited by Moira Queen. The woman had only told her she needed to see her about an urgent legal matter. This was the first time Moira wanted Dinah Laurel Lance, attorney at law, and not Laurel Lance, Oliver’s ex-girlfriend.

“He’s not here you know.” Thea remarked, unhappy to see Laurel. she didn’t know what had happened between her, Ollie and Felicity, but she could guess it wasn’t good if Oliver would lock himself in a bathroom to avoid her.

“He’s not?”

“Nope. Moved out.” She was hoping Oliver would also pull his head out of his ass and act on his feelings for Felicity soon.

“Ah, there you are Laurel.” Moira said, entering the room. She led her through the house into one of the smaller sitting rooms. “I suppose you would like to know what this is about.”

“Yes. Does it have something to do with Oliver?”

“Yes. He’s moved out, which I disagree with.” She said as she handed her a stack of papers. “This is every document I have relating to Oliver’s trust. I want to know what I have to do to cut him off.” If he was going to make this difficult, then she would make things difficult.

Laurel read through the paperwork. It didn’t look good for Moira. There wasn’t any kind of clause barring Oliver from accessing his trust fund. He wasn’t required to marry before a certain age or hold a job or anything. The only thing he needed to do was turn 25 and outlive the person who set up the trust by 90 days. Since the trust was set up by his grandparents, he’d done that. Additionally, Moira was not the trustee of the fund, and thus couldn’t prevent Oliver from receiving what he was entitled to.

“Based just on these documents, you can’t.”

“What do you mean I can’t?”

“Oliver needed to do two things to access this money. He needed to turn 25, which he did. And he needed to outlive his grandfather by 90 days, which he did. Since it was Mr. Queen’s parents who left him this money, you don’t have a case to challenge the will in court.” She said. “The only way to control this fund is if you were to obtain guardianship over Oliver.”

“Oliver’s 27.”

“Yes, but if an adult is proven to not be mentally competent, the court will assign them a guardian to make decisions, including those involving his finances, on his behalf.”

“There’s just one problem: we can’t prove that.”

“Why not?”

“Oliver had to be evaluated by a psychologist before they would release him from the hospital. He was later evaluated by a different, court-appointed psychologist when we were in the process of bringing him back from the dead legally. Both evaluations were submitted to the court.”

“So, there’s nothing I can do.” Moira said.

“Nothing for now. Give me a few days.” She insisted. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do this, but having Moira as a client would help her career. CNRI needed donors and this might give her a chance to snap Oliver out of it. "Estate law isn't my specialty, there might be some obscure law I'm unaware of."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thea is the world's best sister, Felicity is mystified by how delusional Moira is and Tommy finally picks a side.

Thea stuck her head out of her bedroom door and checked the hallway. When she saw is was empty, she closed the door, locked it and pulled out her phone.

>> To: Ollie: I need you to Facetime me RIGHT NOW!

>>From: Ollie: What’s wrong?

Rolling her eyes, she went down further in her contacts and dialed the number. “Are you with Ollie right now?”

“I just got home, so I can go grab him. Why?” Felicity answered.

“Can you put me on speaker?” She said hurriedly. She could hear Felicity pressing buttons on the other end.

“Okay, you’re on speaker.”

“Mom and Laurel are up to something.”

At Felicity’s place, she gave Oliver a look as he processed what Thea was saying. “When you say up to something, what do you mean?”

“Laurel came to the house. Mom seemed to be expecting her and took her into one of the rooms we never use.” She told them. “I waited a little bit before following after them. Mom seemed- it just felt off to me. I might’ve stood outside the room and listened in. They were talking about Ollie’s trust fund and how to cut him off.”

“They can’t.” Felicity pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s what she told Mom, but then Laurel said something about incompetence.”

‘They can’t prove it. I was evaluated and deemed mentally sound.’ Oliver signed to Felicity.

She repeated what he said to her. “Thea, did either of them say anything about what they were going to do?”

“Mom told Laurel Ollie had been evaluated and everything. She told her she’d need a few more days, saying estate law wasn’t her specialty and she needed to look further into it.” She said. “Can they- could they get him declared incompetent.”

“They could try, yes, but its gonna be an uphill battle. Mental illness isn’t the same thing as being mentally incompetent. His situation, what he’s been through, what he’s dealing with, it doesn’t prevent him from making sound decisions or taking care of himself.” Felicity admitted. “Was Walter there or do you think he was involved?” She hadn’t had a chance to tell Oliver about him visiting her earlier that day.

“No, he was at work. And when he found out about Ollie moving out, he seemed supportive. Well, he said that it might be what he needs. Why?”

“He stopped by to see me today. He asked me to ask Oliver to contact him when he feels ready.” She answered. “I only said I’d pass the message along. Then, you called and I didn’t want to say anything before knowing if he was a part of this.”

“I don’t think he is.” Thea told her. “What do we do?”

“For right now, nothing. We need to see what they’re going to try first. A very naïve part of me hopes Laurel won’t be able to find a loophole and your mother will just drop it.”

“That’s not gonna happen.” Thea said angrily.

Oliver began saying something. ‘Can you ask if mom talked to Jean Loring?’ Felicity repeated the question.

“No. I think Mom’s gonna fire her for not telling her about Oliver buying his apartment or wanting to move out.”

“Um, not to be rude, but does your mom not understand how the law and legal ethics work?” Felicity wondered. “Because this is like the fifth thing she either doesn’t know or wants to ignore about the law. Oliver came to Jean, as a client, to go through the process of buying the apartment. He paid her with his money, not your mother’s, making him her client and she had no obligation to tell Moira anything. How did she find out anyway?”

‘She opened the envelope of paperwork Jean sent over.’

“Oh, so she committed a felony by opening mail that wasn’t addressed to her.” Felicity said. It honestly surprised her how much crap Moira got away with. “Ok, we’ll call Jean as soon as we get off the phone and talk with her. See what Oliver’s options are.”

‘Thanks for the heads up Speedy.’ Felicity repeated the message and they ended the phone call.

Their next call was to Jean to discuss options. She asked Oliver to come to her office the next day. That call ended and Oliver asked Felicity if he could talk with her and Digg about something the following night.

 

Tommy tried to call Oliver after he stormed out of the mansion with Felicity, but all of the calls went unanswered. It took him about 12 hours to realize that calling someone who was mute wasn’t the best idea. That just made him feel even more guilty because of how willfully ignorant he was being. He stopped trying to contact Oliver for a little while, needing to figure out what to say. He knew ‘sorry I was a sick who ignored your trauma’ wasn’t very helpful.

It was while Tommy was working on what he wanted to tell Oliver and how he wanted to approach him that Laurel called. Other than random booty calls, she hadn’t reached out to him in a few days.

“Hey.” He said, answering the phone.

“Hi. I need to ask you something.”

“Sure, anything.”

“How much time have you spent around Ollie since he came back and would you be willing to testify about the changes in his behavior?”

“What?” Laurel repeated the question. “What’s this about?”

She didn’t fully explain what Moira’s plan was, just said that Oliver was refusing to listen to his mother’s wishes and things might have to go to court. Laurel didn’t want having Oliver declared incompetent to be their first plan of attack, but she needed character witnesses in case things came to that. Tommy, Oliver’s best friend, was the ideal person to testify about his odd behavior recently.

“I haven’t spent much time with him and I don’t feel comfortable doing that.” He said honestly.

“It’s for his own good. He needs a wake-up call.”

Tommy didn’t want to argue, knowing it wouldn’t do any good and made an excuse to end the conversation. He immediately texted Oliver, no longer worried about how angry his friend might be.

>>To: Ollie: Laurel just called me. She asked about me testifying about your recent behavior. I think she’s trying to have you declared insane or something.

Moments later, he got a response.

>>From: Ollie: Meet me at Loring & Wasserman tomorrow at 10am. Thanks for the head’s up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity talk to Jean, Tommy tries to right his wrongs and Felicity's done playing defense.

Felicity stood next to Oliver as he looked up at the office building in front of them. Jean Loring’s practice, Loring and Wasserman, took up the top floor. When she saw Oliver gulp slightly, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently, showing her support.

“We’ve come this far, let’s keep going.”

‘Thank you.’

They walked into the building and Felicity was pressing a button for the elevator when Tommy called out to Oliver. They turned around to see him jogging over to them.

“Hey, how- how’ve you been?” he asked awkwardly.

‘Not great.’ He answered honestly. As always, Felicity translated his words. ‘I wish I didn’t have to be here. I wish it didn’t come to this.’

“Come to what?”

“You’ll see when he tells Jean what’s been going on.” She told him. “Other than Laurel’s phone call, can you think of anything else they’ve approached you about in regards to Oliver?”

“Not that I can think of. What’s- do you know what they’re up to?”

“We’ve got suspicions.” She answered cryptically as the elevator reached the correct floor. Felicity approached the receptionist and explained they had an appointment with Jean. They were led into a small conference room and offered refreshments. After about five minutes, Jean came into the room.

“Mr. Queen, nice to see you.” She said as she shook his hand. “This is more of a crowd than I was expecting.”

“I’m here as his interpreter.” Felicity explained. “And I’m also a witness to some of the things Oliver wanted to discuss with you. As is Tommy.”

“Ok, what’s this about?”

“We think Moira Queen and Laurel Lance are planning to try to have Oliver declared mentally incompetent.”

“And what makes you think that?”

‘I wanted to move out, as you know. When I told my mother, she threatened to cut me off, which she’s unable to do because I have fully access to my trust fund.’ Oliver signed. ‘Thea overheard them discussing loopholes and Laurel brought up that if I were declared unable to make sound decisions-‘

“You’d be placed under the guardianship of another person, with your mother being the most likely choice.” Jean filled in. “Why would she do this? I believe you, but I need to know more about her angle.”

“She’s a control freak.” Felicity said. “Oliver’s behavior since he came back isn’t what she wanted. She wanted a prodigal son, but he’s different now and she refuses to accept or acknowledge it. Her behavior was making Oliver’s mental health worse, so he wanted to move out. She refused to let him.”

“Do you have anything to add, Mr. Merlyn?” Jean asked.

“Last night, Laurel called me out of the blue. She asked how much time I’d spent around Ollie since he came back and whether I’d testify about his changes in behavior. She wouldn’t tell me much beyond that. I told her I didn’t feel comfortable with what she was asking, and she claimed Oliver needed a wake-up call.”

Felicity snorted. “Of course she did.”

“Could you elaborate?”

“She thinks he needs a wake-up call because she thinks this, Oliver not speaking, his changes in behavior, the symptoms of PTSD, are all an act, so that he doesn’t have to apologize to her or face what he’s done. Her words, not mine.”

“She thinks he’s faking?” Tommy asked.

“Yes. She made that clear when she accosted him in a coffee shop when he was just sitting there, not bothering anyone.” Felicity explained. She didn’t mention that Laurel had been calling and texting Oliver repeatedly for the last two days.

“So, you’ve come here so we can be prepared in case Laurel and Moira move forward with their plan.” Jean summarized. “I’d be happy to represent Oliver in that case. Or any other attempt they make.” She wrote something down before turning to Oliver. “I don’t suppose you brought the forms I sent over regarding your new apartment?”

‘No. My mom saw that the envelope was from me and opened it. She read the forms and confronted me, which led to me telling her I was planning to move out.’

“She opened your mail?”

‘Yes.’

“I had those forms delivered by courier because I knew the situation was unique. The courier wasn’t supposed to let go of that envelope until it was in your hands.” The attorney said, distressed. “I gave very specific instructions.”

“Having known Mrs. Queen, you probably persuaded the courier to leave it with her. She lives in the house and would be able to give it to Oliver.” Tommy pointed out.

“But she was aware those documents weren’t meant for her. By opening them, his mother committed a federal offense.”

‘It’s not surprising after what she did to my therapist. She forced me to see him, and even though I didn’t tell him anything substantial, he disclosed everything that happened in our sessions to her.’ Felicity repeated what he said.

Jean sat up straighter at the news. “Can you prove this? We could use it to show that Moira isn’t acting in Oliver’s best interest. And, if you want, we can sue the doctor for breach of confidentiality.”

“I don’t know. I might be able to find some proof.” Felicity said.

‘It would be my word against hers.’

“It wouldn’t just be yours. We can subpoena the doctor. Someone else may have overheard a discussion they had, such as Thea or Walter.” Tommy said. “Hell, if they had this talk at your house, Raisa or one of the security team could’ve heard it.”

“Speaking of Thea, will you be okay if I step out into the hallway really quick?” Felicity asked. Mentioning Thea and the mansion reminded her of something. She went into the hallway and called Thea. The teen was supposed to be at school but skipped for the day. “I need to ask you a question about Laurel.”

“She hasn’t been back since last night.”

“Good, but that wasn’t the question. Is there any kind of record of people coming and going from the mansion? Security cams? Anything like that?”

“I think Walter had some put up about two years ago. I’m not sure.”

“That’s okay. I was just wondering.” She hung up and went back into the room.

 

They wrapped up their meeting with Jean and left. Tommy asked Oliver to text him when he was ready to talk and Felicity and Oliver went back to her condo. They pulled up outside and found Laurel standing there.

“What are you doing here? Leave.”

“I came to talk to him.”

“How did you know where he was?” Felicity asked. “Oliver, stay in the car.”

“Moira told me he was staying with you.” She said, looking at the building with disgust.

“Ok, but how do you know where I live?” Felicity asked. “I’m not in the phone book.” She could think of two scenarios. Either Laurel looked her up using DMV records, which she didn’t have a valid reason to do, or she ran her name through a police database, which would only require asking her father for a favor. Felicity pulled out her phone and started dialing. “Yes, hello. I’d like to report a trespasser on my property.”

“What are you doing?”

“You’re on my property, I’ve asked you to leave. You’re refusing to leave, meaning you’re trespassing.”

Laurel scoffed and stormed off, getting into her car. Felicity told the dispatcher the trespasser was gone.

Over the next few days, Laurel continued to show up at Felicity’s condo at random times, demanding to speak with Oliver. She also called and texted him multiple times a day. Twice, she came to QC and confronted Felicity.

Unfortunately for her, Felicity kept detailed accounts of this happening and, after her second appearance at QC, Felicity and Oliver went to the SCPD with everything they had. Luckily, Quentin Lance didn’t work at the precinct they went to. Luckier still, the officers they spoke to weren’t his biggest fans and didn’t warn him about the charges Oliver and Felicity were pressing.

 

Laurel was at a fundraising lunch for CNRI, trying to drum up investors from Starling City’s elite when two men in suits she didn’t recognize approached her.

“Dinah Laurel Lance?” One of them asked.

“Yes.”

“You’ve been served.” He said, handing her an envelope and walking out.

The other attendees were staring at her and whispering among themselves. Laurel opened the envelope and read what was inside. It was a temporary restraining order. She wasn’t to be within 500 feet of Oliver Queen or Felicity Smoak. Moments later, two uniformed officers entered the restaurant.

“Stand up please.”

“What? No. Why?”

“Because you’re under arrest for harassment.” One of the officers said. “Stand up or I’ll have to add ‘resisting arrest’ to your charges.”

Feeling eyes on her, Laurel stood up and let herself be escorted out of the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Comments?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel's arraignment hearing takes place, Oliver comes clean about something and pressing charges throws a wrench in Moira's plans.

Laurel was escorted out of the restaurant and into a police car. The cruiser drove to a SCPD precinct downtown where Laurel was taken inside and booked. The entire time she tried to convince the officers that this was a mistake and demanded that they call her father.

As luck would have it, they were taking Laurel into a holding cell when Detective Lance showed up. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’ve got a warrant for her arrest. We arrested her. She’s here.”

“On what charges?”

“Why are you asking Lance? You don’t work at this precinct, its not a major crimes case and you aren’t exactly neutral in all of this.”

“I’m asking as a professional courtesy.” He reasoned. “This is a misunderstanding. Drop the charges.”

“I can’t do that. Two people came in wanting to press charges and they had enough evidence to warrant arresting your daughter. There’s nothing I can do.” The officer didn’t say it, but even if he could drop the charges, he didn’t want to. Lance was a good cop, unless his daughters were involved. He had a tendency to sweep things under the rug whenever they were involved.

“Who pressed the charges?”

“I’m not gonna tell you that and you know I’m not gonna tell you that. You can’t be involved with this at all. If you keep trying to get information on this case, IA’s gonna have to get involved.”

Lance grumbled, promised his daughter they’d work this out and stormed away. The arresting officer asked Laurel if she wanted to call an attorney, but she smugly responded that she’d be defending herself

“Well, your arraignment won’t be until tomorrow morning.” He informed her before walking away.

 

Moira was impatiently looking at the clock. Laurel should’ve been here by now. She called her cell phone and left a message. Thea came into the room right as she was ending the message.

“Who are you waiting for?”

“Laurel. She was supposed to meet with me to discuss- it doesn’t matter. I wonder where she is.”

“I don’t think she’s gonna be able to meet with you today.” Thea said knowingly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Laurel got arrested a few hours ago, so she’s a little busy right now.”

“Arrested? On what charges?”

“Why would I know?” Thea shrugged before leaving the room.

Laurel was under arrest. That just wouldn’t do. Moira needed to act quickly to make Oliver see sense. She couldn’t do that if her lawyer was in a prison cell. She asked one of the servants to bring the car around. She needed to get to the SCPD and clear this mess up.

Moira arrived at the closest police station and asked to see the officer that arrested Laurel Lance. No one there knew what she was talking about. She started making a fuss and then the captain came out to address her. He refused to answer any of her questions and told his men to ignore her. Eventually, she got frustrated and left, threatening to call the mayor.

 

 

Knowing, or at least suspecting, that Laurel’s arrest would garner attention on them, Felicity, Oliver and Digg were holed up at Felicity’s condo. Over the few weeks that he’d been Oliver’s bodyguard, they’d become friends or at the very least friendly. And after he didn’t stop Oliver from leaving the Queen mansion, Felicity trusted him.

Around dusk, Oliver told them he wanted to show them something. He drove them to an abandoned steel factory in the Glades that used to belong to Queen Consolidated. He led them into the building and down into the basement. This was where his lair as the Hood was set up. He pulled out his phone and opened Felicity’s app.

“I needed to tell both of you the truth. I’m the vigilante.” It read out.

“You’re the Hood?” Felicity asked.

‘Yes.’

“Why?”

“People are poisoning this city. Starling City is dying because too many people, people like my father, failed it. I want to bring justice, real justice, to this city.” The program read.

“That’s why you kept ditching me.”

“Does this, does it have anything to do with your….vocal issues?”

‘Yes and no. The experiences that turned me into the vigilante also took my voice, but it didn’t cause it.’

“I’m not- I can’t do this, Oliver.” John said turning away. “This is not- I’m out. I’ll keep the secret but-“ he left.

“Does it help?” Felicity asked quietly. “Doing this, being the vigilante, does it help you?”

‘A little. It makes me feel like I survived for a reason.’

“Okay then.” She said. “Are you planning to head out tonight or-?”

‘No. but I didn’t want to lie to you anymore.’

 

Early the next morning, Laurel was taken out of her cell and escorted to the courthouse. Her father, Moira Queen, and her friend Joanna were the only people who seemed to be there supporting her. Part of her was hurt that Tommy hadn’t come. Just before the hearing began, Moira spotted Jean Loring entering the room but didn’t have time to address her.

The bailiff began to speak. “Dinah Laurel Lance. You’re charged with three counts of harassment, two counts trespassing, one count of stalking, and one count of illegal information gathering. How do you plead?”

“Not guilty.” She answered. “And this is ridiculous.”

The judge banged his gavel. “I will not have outbursts in my court room.” He turned to the DA. “What is the People’s recommendation?”

“Ms. Lance is an attorney herself. She has a number of active cases and we don’t deem her a flight risk.” The DA answered.

“Fine. Bail is set at 10,000.” The judge announced. He was about to bang his gavel when Jean stood up.

“Your Honor, if I may interject.”

“Who are you?”

“Jean Loring. I represent one of the parties pressing charges against Ms. Lance. I move to add an additional stipulation to her bail. She’s aware of who is pressing charges against her. I move that she, nor anyone acting on her behalf, attempt to directly contact her accusers.”

“Objection. This condition prevents me from being able to build a defense against these charges.” Laurel argued.

“The People will provide you with copies of the evidence and a list of witnesses. I don’t see why you should need to contact the alleged victims yourself.” The judge said. “Overruled.”

Laurel’s bail was paid and she put in a motion to move the trial date up. Jean went to her office and told Oliver and Felicity how the hearing went.

 

After her bail was posted, Laurel left the station to find Moira waiting. “How exactly did this happen?”

“Oliver’s new friend decided to fight dirty. Which….complicates things.”

“How?”

“They both have restraining orders against me, which means I can’t be within a certain distance of them which means I can’t approach Oliver to ask him to talk things out with you.”

“So we’ll take the matter to court.”

“That’s also a problem, because any sane judge will throw out the case if I’m in the process of being tried for harassing and possibly stalking Oliver.”

“Well, let’s hope Oliver drops the charges.” Moira said, leading Laurel over to her car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Laurel's arrest now public knowledge, some people try to make the whole situation go away while others gain some clarity.

Felicity sat with Oliver when Jean told them the news about Laurel’s arraignment. She told them she was trying to have the trial date moved up because she thought the charges were ridiculous.

“Who’s representing her?” Felicity wondered aloud.

“She’s decided to represent herself.”

“Isn’t there a saying about lawyers who represent themselves?”

“Yes, they have a fool for a client. This is good though.”

‘How?’ Oliver signed to Felicity. He’d been arrested before, but his parents always bailed him out, so he didn’t know how the actual trial process worked. She repeated the question to Jean.

“Laurel isn’t acting rationally. If she hired a lawyer, that person would be more objective and try to find a way to argue against the facts. From what I’ve seen, she’s focusing on her own feelings and opinions and will probably continue doing that.”

‘So she’s probably going to make a mistake.’

“I want both of you to keep an eye out. Laurel, her coworkers at CNRI, her father. If any of them approach you, I want you to contact me immediately. Actually, if anyone other than the two detectives you gave your statements to approach you and asks about this case or the charges, call me.”

“Will do.” Felicity promised before hanging up. “How are you doing?”

‘I wish it didn’t come to this. I wish she could’ve just left me alone and my mother would just listen to me.’

“I’m sorry this is happening too.” She told him. “You haven’t changed your mind though, have you?”

‘No. I don’t like this, but its what I need to do.’ He told her. ‘Thank you.’

“For what?”

‘Helping me, believing me. Giving me a place to stay. Not screaming or running away when I told you the truth.’

“John’s gonna be back, he just needs some time. I can see why it’s a lot to process. And you never have to thank me.”

 

Tommy was sitting in his room at Merlyn Mansion. He had his laptop open with several articles about PTSD, trauma and helping a friend going through a difficult time loaded in different tabs. He knew this was a little nerdy, and he would’ve laughed at himself a month ago, but he wasn’t sure how to help Ollie. He didn’t know how to help his friend, but maybe one of these articles or websites might.

He was halfway through with an article on the Mayo Clinic’s website when his phone rang. He answered it without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Where have you been?” Laurel asked.

“Well, right now I’m at home looking through-“

“Why weren’t you at my hearing?”

“Hearing? What hearing?”

“My arraignment. I got arrested yesterday.” She said angrily.

“For what?”

“Ollie and his new friend went to the police with this made up story about how I’m harassing them and how she thinks I’m stalking Ollie. It’s ridiculous. And you- you, didn’t even show up when I needed you to.”

Over the last few days, he’d thought a lot about his relationship with Laurel recently and some of the things she was saying was making him a little uneasy. “What do you mean?”

“I needed you there to support me. And you weren’t there.”

“How was I supposed to be? I didn’t know this was happening. You didn’t tell me, you didn’t ask anyone to let me know, and I’ve been holed up in my house for two days. I didn’t know any of this was going on.” He said. “So, now that you’ve yelled at me, what happens now?”

“Now, I’m gonna get even with Oliver and his friend. They had me arrested, they embarrassed me. I’m gonna make them pay.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Tommy told her. “It might make things worse.”

“I know what I’m doing.” She said, practically growling, as she hung up the phone.

 

Felicity woke up the next day, got dressed and went to work. She sat through two meetings for potential collaborations before grabbing lunch and returning to her office. Her good mood vanished the second she entered her office and found Moira standing there.

“Hi.” She said warily.

“I want to talk to Oliver about something. Where is he?”

“Why do you wanna talk to him?”

“That isn’t your concern.”

“Well, when you consider he’s currently pressing charges against Laurel, you keep trying to make him talk to Laurel and her bail will get revoked if she tries to talk to him, yes it is.” Felicity explained. “And also, I’m not his babysitter.”

“My son is sick.”

“No, he isn’t. He’s just thinking for himself and you don’t like that.” She countered. “I think you should go, unless you want to discuss the upgrades I’m making to the company firewall.”

“Or what?”

“Well, I’d have to contact the judge presiding over Laurel’s trial and inform him that Laurel, through you, is trying to contact Oliver despite knowing she isn’t supposed to. I don’t want to do that, but I will.”

“Are you threatening her? Or me?”

“How is asking someone to respect a valid restraining order threatening? Oliver wants to be left alone. As do I. I’ll tell him you came to visit, and if he wants to talk to you, I’m sure he will.”

The Queen matriarch must not have had anything to say, because she let out a huff and left. The rest of Felicity’s workday went by smoothly, in spite of the strange looks her coworkers were giving her.

 

She drove home and got out of her car. She was locking the vehicle when she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see a man old enough to be her father approaching her.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, my name is Detective Lance.”

“You really shouldn’t be here, detective.” She said.

“Oh really, and why’s that?”

“You know why. Let me guess, you’re here to try and convince me to let you talk to Oliver about the case against Laurel.”

“He killed one of my daughters and now he’s trying to get the other one locked up.”

“No, he isn’t. He wants to be left alone. Your daughter refuses to leave him alone. Things were escalating and he, we, needed to do something. If Laurel had just left him alone, there wouldn’t need to be a case.”

“Yeah, because he’s totally innocent in all of this.”

“In this? Yes. Because he’s gone out of his way to steer clear of your family, but she won’t let him. And before you say it, whatever happened five years ago doesn’t justify the harassment he’s been dealing with.” She argued. “And now, you’re here trying to fix things for her, which isn’t gonna look good.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, you’re a cop. I’m a victim and potential witness to the crime your daughter is being tried for. This isn’t your jurisdiction, either.” She pointed out. “At best, you’re a man with a blindspot, at worst, you might be a crooked cop.” She stepped around him and walked to her front door. “That’s all I have to say to you, detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity talks to Oliver about her surprise guests, Thea tries to encourage her brother and Oliver has some self-worth issues.

Felicity walked into her condo and let out the deep breath she was holding in. She wasn’t a very combative person by nature, nor was she big on confrontation. The last few days, however, had brought out that side of her. She walked into her kitchen, where she was surprised to see Oliver cooking something. She didn’t want to startle him, so she dropped her bag on the table with a quiet thud, causing him to turn around.

“Hey.”

‘Hi. How was work?’

“It was fine, until your mom showed up. She wanted to talk to you.”

‘Did she do something? Cause a scene?’

“No, she was just a little unpleasant, and didn’t understand why I wouldn’t budge. I’m mostly annoyed that she’s interrupting my workday, and the workday of other employees, for a personal matter.”

‘Did you tell Jean?’

“I’m not sure if I should. She didn’t bring up Laurel or the case, so I can’t say she was definitely trying to pull something. At the same time, telling her feels like the right move.” She said. “But first, I need to check to make sure the external cameras are on.”

‘Why?’

“Because Laurel’s father was waiting for me when I got home.”

‘Are you okay? Did he threaten you?’ Oliver felt guilty. Ever since he met Felicity, he’d been making her like more complicated. Maybe he should just leave, so that she wouldn’t have to deal with his problems.

“I’m fine, but I need to call Jean.” She promised him. “And get that ‘this is all my fault’ look off of your face. You can’t control the actions, or overreactions, of other people.” She looked past him to what he was cooking. “What is that?”

‘I made dinner. I wanted to thank you for helping me so much. It’s just some pasta and grilled chicken but I thought-‘ This was hard for him. Talking about his feelings was hard. Expressing himself was hard. Even if he didn’t need to speak, it was difficult for him to tell Felicity what he wanted to say.

“I can’t wait to try it, thank you.” She said before heading to her room to change.

They ate dinner before Felicity called Jean. She told her about Moira’s visit at her work and her conversation with Lance. She mentioned that Moira didn’t outright say what she wanted but Lance made his motivations clear. Oliver sat beside Felicity as she and Jean discussed what to do.

“There’s a question I’ve been….reluctant to ask, but since Laurel seems determined to fight this out, I need to know.” Jean said. “Is there anything in your past that I should know about, Felicity?”

“In what sense?”

“Laurel may try to attack your character while attempting to prove her innocence. I need to know, and the DA’s gonna need to know, if there are any skeletons in your closet that she might find. I don’t want you to be blindsided.”

“I had a stalker my first year of college. My ex-boyfriend hacked into the Department of Education right after we broke up my senior year and he went to prison. And then there’s Emily, my cousin who she might bring up.”

“Why would she bring up your cousin?”

“I’d rather explain to you in person, but she’s the reason I learned sign language and why I’m being so protective of Oliver.” Felicity said. “The rest is kinda- like I said, I’d rather not tell you about it over the phone.”

“That’s fair. Could you stop by my office tomorrow and we’ll discuss it?”

“Yes.” Felicity agreed before wrapping up the conversation and ending the call.

Oliver was looking at her with a concerned look. ‘Did something happen to her? Do you wanna talk about it?’

“Thanks for offering, but I’d prefer not to.” She told him, getting up from the couch. “I think I’m gonna go read alone for a while. You didn’t do anything, I just- I need some alone time.” She assured him as she went into her bedroom. This situation with Laurel was bringing up a lot of painful memories for Felicity.

After she disappeared into her room, Oliver’s phone buzzed. He saw that he had two texts, one from Tommy and one from Thea.

>>From: Tommy: Laurel called me. She sounded kinda unhinged, talking about how she was going to make you and Felicity pay. I told Jean about it, but I wanted to tell you too.

He didn’t respond and his breathing started to become shallow as he worried about what she might do. It took him several moments to calm himself enough to read Thea’s text.

>>From: Speedy: Have you made your move yet?

>>To: Speedy: What move?

>>From Speedy: Felicity. I know you like her, are you gonna ask her out???

>>To: Speedy: No, I think I’ve caused her enough problems already.

>>From: Speedy: That’s complete crap. You like her, I’m pretty sure she likes you. Ask her out. You deserve to be happy.

>>To: Speedy: I’m a mute with PTSD and a ton of other problems. She deserves better than someone like me.

>>From Speedy: Yes, you’re mute. And yes, you have some issues, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be happy or that you aren’t good enough for her.

>>From: Speedy: I’ll drop the subject after this, but think about it for a second. Felicity’s the first person who you said made you feel normal. And she doesn’t treat you any differently because of your situation.

>>From: Speedy: I gotta go. Homework to do.

>>To: Speedy: Goodnight Speedy.

 Oliver wandered into the bathroom and locked the door. While he thought about what Thea said, he stared at himself in the mirror. He did have feelings for Felicity, that much was true, but he didn’t know if she had feelings for him. On top of that, he was so damaged, physically and emotionally, that he didn’t think anyone would want him. He wasn’t sure if he deserved to be happy after everything he’d done. Felicity was happy and amazing, like sunshine personified, while he was all darkness and pain. He thought the only thing a relationship with him could bring her was pain.

There was a light knock at the door. “Oliver? Is everything okay? You’ve been in there for about ten minutes. Just, if you’re okay, knock twice for ‘yes’.” Felicity said. He knocked twice on the door. “Do you just need some time alone?” He knocked twice more. “Okay, I’ll give you some space.”

He heard her footsteps move away from the door. Oliver stared at himself in the mirror and opened his mouth. Maybe, if he started talking again, if he could convince people he was normal, this whole thing would go away. All he had to do was move his mouth and make sound come out. He started moving his lips, but no sound would come out. He stood there for several moments, trying to will some noise, any noise, to come out, but was met with silence. Depressed, he turned away and unlocked the door, leaving the room. Felicity was on the couch, watching something on a low volume and looked up when the door opened. She stood up when she saw his expression.

“You’re crying. What’s wrong?”

‘I tried.’ He signed. ‘Nothing would come out.’

“What?”

‘I tried to speak, to say something, but the sound wouldn’t come out. I thought maybe, if I really tried, I could talk again and this would all go away, but it didn’t work.’

“Oh, Oliver.” She said, moving closer to him. “Is it okay if I hug you?” He nodded, so she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry. I don’t think it’s about effort, it’s about healing and time. You’re on the way, but you aren’t there yet.” She told him. “And that’s okay. It’s okay not to be okay.”

‘Thank you, Felicity.’

When he went to bed that night, he thought back on his conversation with Felicity. She had made him feel so much better, which only convinced him that he wasn’t good enough for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Tommy talk and Felicity tells Oliver something.

The next morning, Felicity was getting ready for work when Oliver walked over to her. He seemed determined but had a nervous look on his face. She smiled at him and waited for him to say or do whatever he was worried about.

‘Good morning.’

“Morning.” She responded. “How are you feeling?”

‘Better than yesterday.’ He signed at her. ‘Is it okay if Tommy comes here this afternoon? I wanted to talk to him, but I don’t wanna meet him in public because of the press.’

“He’s your best friend, of course he can come over.” She told him.

‘But its your house.’

“You live here too, and anyone on Team Oliver is welcome here.”

‘Team Oliver?’

“All of the people who want to support you and make sure you aren’t forced to do things you don’t wanna do. You, me, Tommy, Thea, Digg, Jean. Team Oliver.” She explained.

‘I don’t know if Digg still counts.’ He said. They hadn’t heard from the retired soldier since Oliver revealed his secret identity.

“He called me a little while ago. He wants to talk to you, about what you told us. He admits that he was too surprised by the revelation to fully listen to your arguments.” She said. She looked over to the clock. “Sorry, I gotta go. Work and all that. Tell Tommy I say hi.” She grabbed her bag and headed out.

On her way to work, Felicity stopped by the SCOD and told the detectives about Moira’s visit to her office and Lance coming to her home. She wasn’t sure what, if anything, would come of it, but wanted to do things the right way just in case.

 

Knowing that Digg was open to talking, Oliver sent John a message just asking how he was doing. He wanted to ease into the conversation about Oliver being the Hood and John’s feelings about it. Digg said he’d spent the last few days thinking about what Oliver had told them, and why he was doing what he was doing. He admitted that while he didn’t fully understand Oliver’s reasons, he could see where his motivations were coming from. Oliver ended the conversation by asking John to meet him at the foundry the following night.

 

Around noon, Oliver texted Tommy and asked if he’d come to Felicity’s house. He was finally ready to talk like Tommy had suggested in Jean’s office. His friend almost immediately agreed and drove over. When Oliver let him into the house, he launched into a long speech.

“First, I wanna say I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t take what you were saying about your state seriously and I’m sorry that I didn’t pick up on how you were reacting when I did that. I guess I was so excited to have my wingman back, I ignored anything that didn’t fit the image of you I wanted. But, after Felicity pointed a few things out, and some research on my own, I realize how selfish and hurtful my actions were.”

Oliver pulled out his trusty pad of paper and started writing. _You did research?_

“My best friend has PTSD and he’s trying to recover from five years of trauma. Of course, I did. I read a bunch of articles about PTSD and trauma so that I wouldn’t be such an asshole inadvertently.” Tommy chuckled. “I mean, I don’t know anything about what you went through, and I wasn’t sure what else to do, so…”

_You didn’t need to do that much._

“Yes, I did.” He insisted. “So, what did you wanna talk about? Crap, that wasn’t a good word to use.”

 _Hearing the word ‘talk’ doesn’t upset me. You don’t have to avoid using it. I use it all the time. I get kinda annoyed when people avoid words like ‘talk’ and ‘speak’ or feel bad for saying it._ He handed the sheet over to Tommy before starting to write on another one. _I don’t wanna talk about what happened. I think it’ll be a long time before I’d even consider it. No one seemed to get that except Felicity and Digg and later Thea, which is why I’ve spent so much time with them._

“That makes sense.”

_I’m not Ollie anymore. Even if I could talk, I don’t think I could ever be him again. Too much has happened. And as painful as its been for you all here, for me its been way worse. I spent five years trying to come home, dreaming about it. But when I finally got home, everyone was trying to get the ‘old me’ back and no one seemed happy since I wasn’t Ollie and my mother claims she still hasn’t gotten her son back. Imagine how that feels._

“That’s awful. And again, I’m sorry for making things worse.”

_You didn’t make things worse, just the same. But ~~it didn’t make it any easier~~ I have issues, and they aren’t just PTSD and mutism. Some of the ‘I want Ollie back’ behavior brought those issues to light._

“Anything I can do to help?”

 _Helping stop Laurel and my mom is doing a lot. Other than that, what you’re doing now is good. I think there might be a Rocket’s game on._ The conversation had gotten a little too heavy and veered too far into Oliver’s mental state. He wanted to backtrack. Tommy read the note, said they should watch it and handed Oliver the remote.

Tommy left around four and Felicity came home a little after five. She looked upset, but wouldn’t say why. Oliver wanted to respect her privacy, so he didn’t push. They were eating dinner, some Big Belly Burger she’d picked up, when she finally spoke.

“I have a meeting with Jean in the morning. Its about Emily. I’m not looking forward to it.” She admitted. “There’s- I don’t think of myself as an angry or vindictive person, but if Laurel brings her up, all bets are off. She should’ve left you alone to begin with, but if she crosses that line, I won’t be able to just let it go.”

‘I can come with you, if you want.’ He offered.

“I’d like that. Just- there’s something I need you to know before you agree.” She told him. “Emily- she’s- she isn’t- she passed away, and I blame myself.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily. and Felicity's, story is told.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this is not a fun chapter. It's not a happy chapter.

“Emily- she’s- she isn’t- she passed away, and I blame myself.” Felicity admitted.

‘Why do you blame yourself?’ Oliver signed.

“I didn’t- when I tell you the story, you and Jean both, then you’ll understand. How did it go with Tommy?”

‘Good, we talked about his behavior and came to an understanding. He was acting like an asshole, but a well-meaning asshole. If that makes sense.’

“It does, kinda.” She told him.

The night was quiet and then Oliver mentioned needing to take care of something Hood-related. ‘I’ve been putting the fight off for longer than I meant to.’ he had given Anthony Venza, a major drug dealer in Starling several days to turn himself in or get out of town. The man hadn’t taken him up on that offer, so Oliver needed to pay him another visit.

“If you need to go, you should go. Just- be safe, and be careful.” She told him.

 

It wasn’t difficult for Oliver to find Venza. After their confrontation days ago, the dealer hadn’t even bothered to find a new hideout. He wasn’t sure if the man didn’t take the threats seriously or if he was just stupid.

“Oh, you’re back. Here to threaten me again?” The man yelled at Oliver after he’d stormed into the building and taken out his security. “News flash, it doesn’t work if you aren’t gonna back it up.” Oliver didn’t react other than to raise his bow and aim it at Venza. “Look, I’m not leaving. I’ve got a good business built here. I’ve got the drugs and this city’s got plenty of junkies willing to pay whatever I ask to get their fix. I leave, and someone else’s just gonna take my place.” Oliver released the arrow and watched as it hit Venza in the shoulder. He didn’t want to kill him, just to wound. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

Oliver lowered his bow and attacked the man. He had gotten the confession he needed. The building he was standing in held more than enough proof that Venza was making and selling drugs. He just needed the dealer to still be here when the police arrived. Knocking the man out wasn’t difficult and he was already hearing sirens when he was tying the man to his chair so he couldn’t escape.

Oliver left his recording arrow, with Venza’s full confession on the desk for the police to find before making his escape. His father’s list now had one less name on it for him to deal with. He went to the foundry, changed out of his hood and returned to Felicity’s condo a little before dawn.

 

The next morning, Felicity knocked lightly on Oliver’s door a little after eight. “Hey, my appointment with Jean is at nine, so if you still wanna be there, you should probably get up soon.” She said from the hallway before walking away.

Oliver was up, dressed and ready to go within five minutes. Felicity had been very supportive of him. He wanted to be just as supportive of her. He didn’t know why Emily was a sore subject or why Felicity seemed to be dreading this meeting, but he was determined to be there for Felicity, however she needed him to be, so that she wouldn’t have to talk about it alone. If the blonde was surprised that he was ready so quickly, she didn’t say anything other than to ask Oliver if he wanted to eat something before they left.

The drive to Jean Loring’s office was quiet and they were shown into a conference room as soon as they arrived. Jean came in a few moments later.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were joining us as well, Oliver. Is that ok with you, Felicity?”

“Yeah, I kinda- I asked him to be here. Nothing against you, but I wanted a friend here with me.” Oliver gave her an encouraging smile and turned back to Jean.

“That’s understandable. We can start whenever you’re ready.”

“I don’t know where to start, actually.” She said, looking down at her hands. “’I guess I should tell you why Laurel’s likely to bring Emily up. Emily and Oliver’s situations are very different, but they have some similarities and she’s- I’m afraid she’s going to argue that I’m projecting my guilt about Emily onto Oliver’s situation.”

“In what way?”

“I feel like I didn’t do enough to help her.” She said. “My cousin, she was born deaf. We all learned sign language as soon as we knew. We wanted to be able to communicate with her. Emily- you know how sometimes people who are deaf have issues being understood when they speak? Emily learned to talk, but since she could never hear herself, she didn’t know how words were supposed to sound. The enunciation, volume, pitch, she couldn’t hear any of that, so she was missing the important feedback that hearing children learn from when they start talking. It didn’t really become a problem until she started school. Her first day of school, she tried to talk to the other kids, to make friends, but it didn’t work out very well. Kids can be mean and they started making fun of her. She ended up switching classes when the teacher noticed. So, from kindergarten until the start of 11th grade, she didn’t talk around anyone who wasn’t family. The county got her an interpreter for school and she communicated using ASL.”

“May I ask what happened?”

“Her 11th grade English teacher was an asshole. He knew she was deaf. He knew she had a right to use an interpreter, but he didn’t care. He singled her out because he saw an interpreter as being a distraction for the other students. I think he just didn’t wanna accommodate her and was hoping to force her into changing schools. He added a graded speech to the curriculum and pulled Emily and her interpreter aside and told them that if she used the interpreter, he’d give her a failing grade. Now, no one in my mom’s family takes that kinda crap lying down, so my uncle raised a fuss, justifiably. They sided with Emily, but the damage was done. Everyone in the school knew about it and because teenagers are mean, they started picking on her. Trying to get her talk, mocking the way she signed. Those kinds of things.” Felicity said. “I- I was at MIT when this happened, so all I could really do is text or Skype her and try to make her feel better. That app I built, I built it so that she wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of crap every single day. I was trying to make things a little better for her.” Oliver reached over and squeezed Felicity’s hand. He could sense that the hard part of the story was coming. “But I wasn’t able to finish it before-.”

“Before what?” Jean asked in a kind voice. She didn’t want to press for details, but she needed to know the full story.

“She was being bullied, badly. And nothing I did, nothing my mom did or my family did, was able to help her. We tried but it became too much for her. So, she came home from school one day and she-.” By now, Felicity was sobbing. “And it’s my-“

Oliver could fill in the blanks. Emily’s peers bullied her to the point where she didn’t see a way out and she killed herself. Felicity blamed herself for that happening. ‘It’s not your fault.’

“Yes, it is. She tried to Skype me, but I was studying for a test and-“

‘It’s not your fault. You tried the best that you could to help her. You weren’t the one to make her feel like that was her only option and you couldn’t have known she was going to do that.’

“I’m going to give both of you a moment.” Jean said, standing up.

“No, I- I wanna get this over with.” Felicity said. “After that happened, I finished the app. I couldn’t help Emily, but I could help other people. I also swore that I wouldn’t let that happen to anyone else if I could prevent it. Then, I met Oliver and he asked me to teach him ASL and we became friends. Then, I found out his mother was trying to force him to speak and browbeat him into doing things her way and not caring how he felt and-“

“It reminded you of Emily and your promise.”

“Exactly. But I- I’m not helping Oliver because of Emily. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. No one deserves to be treated like that.” Emily’s death was a pivotal moment in Felicity’s life. It was the reason she created half a dozen apps to help deaf people, blind people and others with disabilities. It was also when she decided she wasn’t going to ignore it or look the other way when people, like Laurel Lance and Moira Queen, went out of their way to make people struggling with mental illness feel worse about themselves. She wasn’t going to sit by and just let people behave like that.

‘I know.’ Oliver signed.

Jean didn’t need to hear anymore from Felicity and they came up with a plan in case Laurel used Emily to discredit Felicity. “I’ll admit, it will surprise me if she’s foolish enough to bring her up. On the surface, it might look like some form of trump card, but digging any deeper and it only makes your character look better. I think I should look into Ms. Lance some more, see what information I can dig up.”

“Can you also find out how she knows where I live? Because I’m purposefully not in the phone book and she had to get it from somewhere.” Felicity stated.

“Yes, that’s on the top of my list.”

Felicity and Oliver thanked Jean and left. Felicity was no longer sobbing, but she was still crying. “Kinda glad I took a personal day from work for this.” She said, trying to lighten the mood.

‘You don’t have to pretend to be okay.’ Oliver told her. ‘Why don’t I drive?’ She handed him the keys and he drove them back to her condo.

They went inside and Felicity made a beeline for the freezer and pulled out some ice cream. “Sorry, I just- I really need this.”

‘You don’t need to explain. I know that wasn’t easy to talk about.’

“I don’t think its ever going to be.” She admitted as she dug her spoon in for more. “Want some?”

‘Thank you, but no.’ He told her. He considered something for several moments before finally saying it. ‘Tell me about Emily. Something happy.’

“She was an amazing artist. I have this painting she did in my room. It’s the view from the roof of the apartment building my mom and I used to live in. It’s beautiful.” She said with a smile. “She also- she had the weirdest sense of humor. She’d find the most random things funny and then I’d laugh because she was laughing.”

‘She sounds wonderful.’

“She was.” Felicity wiped away some of her tears. “I’m sorry. You’re dealing with enough issues as is, I don’t wanna add mine on top of that.”

‘You aren’t. You have supported me for weeks. I want to return the favor.’ He said. ‘But it isn’t your fault. You, your family, you all did everything you could. Even now, you’re doing more than you need to. Emily’s death isn’t your fault, and you shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened.’

“And you shouldn’t blame yourself for what’s happening now. Your mom, Laurel, Laurel’s father, its not your fault.”

‘It is though. If I tried harder to be normal, then maybe-.’

“I don’t wanna interrupt you, but no. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

‘Neither did you.’

The room fell silent. “You know what I kinda wanna watch? Harry Potter. Emily loved those movies. I’ve got all of them, but I haven’t watched them since- well, in a long time.” Felicity remarked.

‘Let’s watch them. If its okay that I watch them with you?’

“Of course, I’ll go grab them.” She said as she put the ice cream back into the fridge and went into her bedroom. She came back holding a stack of DVDs.

Oliver and Felicity spent the rest of the day watching the first three Harry Potter films. Oliver had only read the first two books, but made a mental note to ask Felicity about the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and John talk, Felicity and Thea talk and they get some less-than-good news.

Felicity and Oliver were just finishing up the third Harry Potter movie when Oliver realized what time it was. He was supposed to meet Digg at the foundry soon to talk. He didn’t want to blow the other man off, but he also didn’t want to leave Felicity alone. He decided to text him instead, asking him to come here.

‘Digg is on his way.’ He told Felicity.

“He is? Why? What’s wrong?”

‘Nothing. I wanted to talk to him about me being a vigilante. We were going to meet at my father’s old steel factory but I didn’t want to leave you alone.’

“Oliver, I’m a big girl. You don’t need to worry about me.”

‘I don’t need to, but I do.’ He responded.

“Aren’t you sweet.” She remarked as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, but I’ll be okay.”

Oliver’s cheeks reddened when she kissed him and he was trying to figure out how to respond when there was a knock at the door. He went over to answer it after seeing it was John.

“Hey man.”

_Hi, thanks for coming._

“No problem. Is everything okay with Felicity? You said in your text that you didn’t want to leave her here alone.”

_We met with Jean today. Felicity had to tell us what happened to her cousin. It’s not a happy story. It hasn’t been a very good day._

“So, you wanted to support her since she’s supported you.” He remarked knowingly. “Okay. Makes sense. Let’s talk about why I’m here. You’re the Hood.”

_I’m not a fan of that name._

“Is there another codename you wanna go by?” Digg asked. Oliver didn’t have an answer to that. “If you don’t pick a name, the police or press are gonna name you themselves.”

 

While John and Oliver were talking, Felicity hid in her room to give them some privacy. She didn’t want to intrude on their conversation and she was also worried Oliver might be more focused on making sure she was okay than coming to an understanding with John or explaining things.

She was working on a piece of code when her phone rang. She saw Thea was calling her and answered. “Are you anywhere near your mother or Laurel right now?” She asked immediately.

“No, of course not.” The teenager answered. “I was just calling to say hi.”

“Hi. Sorry if it sounded like- I wasn’t accusing you of anything, its just- I want this whole mess to be over.”

“Me too. Mom keeps making comments about how she ‘just wants to fix things’ whenever I’m in the room. I think she’s hoping I’ll call Ollie to try and get him to come back here. Like I’d make him step foot in this place with what’s going on.” She said. “How- how is he?”

“He’s struggling. Your mom’s behavior, the situation with Laurel, its stressing him out. And he’s starting to feel guilty because their actions aren’t just impacting him. I keep telling him it isn’t his fault but he doesn’t seem to believe me.”

“He’s blaming himself? That’s ridiculous.”

“To you and me. maybe. But to him, its not. He thinks that if he tried harder to be normal or something, none of this would be happening. Its not true and I think deep down he knows that, but the guilt still remains.”

“He doesn’t have anything to feel guilty about.”

“Again, we both know that, but he doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Another thing he doesn’t want to admit.” Thea remarked. He didn’t want to admit that what was happening wasn’t his fault. He didn’t want to admit that he had feelings for Felicity.

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, its nothing. I- I was trying to encourage him to do something, but he kinda shut down and I haven’t tried to mention it since.” She hurried to say. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure? Because I can try to broach the subject with him if its important.”

“It’s not.” Thea insisted. “Can I talk to Ollie for a second? I don’t need to talk with him, there’s just- there’s something I want him to hear from me.”

“Yeah, let me go get him.” Felicity left her bedroom and walked into the living room where Oliver and John were. “Sorry, Thea wants to talk to you.” She talked into the receiver. “I’m gonna hand him the phone okay?”

She could make out the sounds of Thea’s voice but couldn’t decipher what she was saying to Oliver. He listened to his sister with rapt attention for just over a minute before handing the phone back to Felicity.

‘Tell her I love her.’ He signed. ‘And I’m sorry I haven’t said it before now.’

Felicity repeated the message and Thea said her goodbyes before hanging up.

 

John didn’t feel comfortable staying after Thea’s phone call. Clearly, whatever she’d said to Oliver had made him very emotional, and the man wasn’t used to other people seeing him like that. John told Oliver that they’d talk more later and let himself out. Oliver and Felicity were alone in the living room once again. It was quiet for a solid five minutes.

“Oliver, are you okay? Thea’s phone call seemed to really- if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

‘I didn’t tell her I loved her when I got back. I spent five years wanting to just hug my family and tell them I loved them, but when I came back I couldn’t. I lost a lot over five years, but I think that’s the worst. They took my voice from me.’

“They?”

Oliver had slipped up. Until now, he’d never mentioned there were other people on the island with him. It was now or never. ‘I wasn’t entirely alone on the island. There were others there, and they tortured me.’

She didn’t say anything right away and Oliver stood up from the couch and started to walk away. “Wait, please. Stop.” She said, following after him. “I’m sorry, I just- I don’t know what I’m supposed to say or do here. ‘I’m sorry that happened’ doesn’t feel like enough. It’s not enough. And I don’t wanna downplay what you told me by trying to relate. Nor do I wanna ask if you’d like to talk about it, because I’m pretty sure you don’t. Just, tell me what you need from me, please.”

‘You still want to help me?’ He was afraid that if anyone found out what happened to him, they’d think he was weak or think he was damaged. They wouldn’t look at him or treat him the same.

“Of course, I do. What you said, it doesn’t change anything about us.”

‘You don’t think I’m weak or pathetic because I was tortured?’

“No. Oliver, you survived on your own for five years. You dealt with some very traumatic things happening to you. You aren’t weak. In fact, you’re probably the strongest person I know.” She told him.

‘I need some time alone for a little bit.’

“Okay.”

She didn’t see Oliver for the rest of the night. The next morning, he was already in the kitchen when she came in for some coffee. It didn’t look like he’d slept very well. She was about to ask if he was okay when her phone rang. She saw that it was the detective they’d spoken to about pressing charges against Laurel.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Smoak, this is Detective Parks. I have Mr. Donner, the ADA here with me. Is now a good time?”

“As good a time as any.”

“Ms. Lance filed a motion to move up the trial date.” The attorney said. “I just received word that its scheduled to start on Monday.”

It was Thursday, meaning Felicity and Oliver only had four days before they were due to appear in court. “The trial starts Monday?”

“Yes. Both you and Mr. Queen will be called to testify and it was important that you know. I was wondering if we could meet either today or tomorrow to go over a few things to prepare. I also wanted Mr. Queen to have a chance to meet with the ASL interpreter we’d be using.”

“I’ll- let me talk to Oliver and I’ll call you back.” She said before hanging up. “I take it you heard most of that.”

‘Yes.’ He said with a frown. ‘I wanna get this over with.’

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel's trial begins

Oliver spent the four days before Laurel’s trial working off his nerves by crossing names off of his father’s list. He knew it might not be the healthiest way to cope, but he had too many conflicting emotions about the trial and couldn’t think of another way to get all of that energy out.

Felicity spent the time helping Oliver with a few things related to his self-assigned mission. Outside of his mission, she doubled down on some of her personal projects. Her nerves about how the trial would go manifested as her feeling the need to finish all of her unfinished projects and start the new ones she’d been putting off. Unfortunately, Monday came a lot faster than either Oliver and Felicity were ready for.

Thanks to John, Oliver and Felicity both arrived at the courthouse and were able to make it through the crowd of paparazzi unharmed. Laurel’s arrest hadn’t gotten much attention when it first happened; people in Starling got arrested every day.  Then, word got out that Laurel’s ex-boyfriend was the one pressing charges and the press jumped on that instantly. Oliver Queen’s name sold papers, so of course every tabloid in town had shown up to dig up some dirt. Oliver was just happy that, by county law, only respectable news outlets, such as the Starling Times, were allowed to sit in on court proceedings.

They were taken to a small office on the second floor of the courthouse where they’d wait until they were called as witnesses. Oliver had spent plenty of time in courtrooms in his younger years but he’d never been there as a witness or victim. To make matters worse, the person he felt the most comfortable around, Felicity, couldn’t be in the courtroom when he testified because hearing his testimony could impact hers.

‘I don’t think I can do this.’

“What makes you say that?”

‘They- I might get asked about the island, she might ask about it. And I….its a room full of people I either don’t know or don’t feel comfortable around.’ He told her. ‘What if I freeze up?’

“Do something for me, okay? Just in case you get nervous. Don’t look at Laurel, look at John, or look at Thea, or even the translator. They aren’t getting called as witnesses, and they’re both here. Forget about everyone else, just focus on them. You can do this.”

Felicity said that just in time, because a few moments later, a bailiff opened the door. “Mr. Queen, they’re ready for you.”

“Remember what I said.”

 

Oliver walked with the man down the stairs and into the court room. Everyone turned to gawk at him as he walked from the door to the witness stand, but he just focused on taking one more step. He heard his mother try to get his attention, but tuned her out. if he looked at anyone, he’d probably bolt and that wouldn’t look good. He eventually made it to the stand and swore to tell the truth.

“Please give your name for the record.” The DA started.

‘My name is Oliver Queen.’ He signed and Madison Green, the ASL interpreter provided by the court, repeated what he’d said.

“Can you give us your account of events concerning Ms. Lance’s actions towards you?”

‘It really started a few weeks after I came home. I was in a coffee shop, waiting for Felicity to order, when she walked up to me.’ He signed. ‘She asked me if I was still ‘faking’ being unable to speak.’

“What happened next?”

‘Felicity overheard Laurel say that and came to my defense.’

“Mr. Queen is, of course, referring to the events shown on the surveillance tape we submitted as Exhibit B.” The DA told the jury. “What happened next?”

‘She started showing up at my house, demanding to see me. I usually left or hid when she came by.’

“No one noticed you were avoiding her?”

‘My sister did. I never talked to my mother about it, but I think she might’ve been the one who kept inviting her over.’

“And how did you feel about that happening?”

“Objection. This isn’t relevant.” Laurel said, standing.

“How the victim feels about being harassed isn’t relevant?” The DA asked rhetorically.

“His feelings matter, but since I was invited to be there, my presence during this time shouldn’t be used as evidence against me.”

“I’ll allow it. Answer the question, Mr. Queen.”

‘Angry and annoyed. I’d stated I didn’t want to see or talk to Laurel, but no one seemed to care what I thought.’ He answered. ‘My hope was if I kept avoiding her, she’d stop coming around and leave me alone. It didn’t work, especially after I moved out.’

“What happened after you moved?”

‘She began to call and text me multiple times a day, I never answered any of them. More than once, she showed up at the place I was staying, trying to see me, despite being told I didn’t want to see her.’ he told them. ‘I just wanna be left alone.’

“I have no more questions.” The DA said, sitting down.

Laurel stood up, and the look on her face reminded Oliver of the shark that bit him on Lian Yu. “Hello, Oliver.”

‘Hi.’

“Could you tell us about the events that caused you to stop talking?”

“Objection!” The DA said. “This isn’t relevant. We’re here to determine if Ms. Lance harassed and stalked Mr. Queen.”

“I realize that but-“

“And asking him to revisit unrelated trauma is cruel and unfair to him.”

“Sustained. The cause of Mr. Queen’s muteness is banned as a line of questioning.”

“Of course.” She said. “How long have we known each other?”

‘About 15 years.’

“So, you could say we’re friends. good friends. Is it not possible that I was simply a concerned friend, worried about you and that’s why I tried so hard to see you.”

‘When you found out I was mute, you accused me of faking it to avoid apologizing to you. At the coffee shop, you asked me point blank if I was still faking. Every message you left for me involved either claiming I was faking or demanding I talk to you.’

“Tell me about Felicity Smoak.”

‘She’s my friend. She’s the one who taught me ASL and I’ve been staying at her house since I moved out of my family’s home.’

“And how long have you known her?”

‘A few months.’

“You moved in with her after only knowing her a few months?”

‘I couldn’t stay at my family’s house anymore and she offered me her guest room while I figured things out.’

“Why couldn’t you stay there?”

“Again, relevance?” The DA asked.

‘I didn’t feel comfortable there. Partially because my mother knew I was avoiding you, and didn’t seem to care.’

“She was trying to help, trying to get you to reconnect with your old friends.”

‘Every time I see you, you have something nasty or cruel to say to me. and if she wanted to help me, she would’ve listened to me and not tried to force me to see you, or force me to see a therapist.’

“Your mental health-“

“The witness’s mental health isn’t the matter at hand.” The DA said. “Nor are Moira Queen’s motives. She isn’t on trial, neither is Mr. Queen.”

“No more questions.” Laurel said.

“Very well. Mr. Queen, you can step down.” The judge said. Oliver stood up from the witness stand and moved towards the door.

“The prosecution calls its next witness, Felicity Smoak.” The DA announced.

Felicity passed Oliver in the hallway and gave him a reassuring smile. She wasn’t sure how convincing she was, but hoped it eased his worry a little bit. She went to the witness stand and swore to tell the truth.

“How did you meet Oliver Queen?”

“About a week after he was found, he came into my office. His phone had broken and someone said I could fix it. I think it might’ve been Walter Steele, but I don’t know for sure. After our first meeting, he came back to ask another tech related question. That was when he asked if I could teach him ASL.”

“And how did Oliver know you knew ASL?”

“It came up when we first met. I didn’t know if he was writing things down because he had some kind of hearing loss or if he was simply mute. I asked him if ASL would be easier for him. I started teaching it to him and we became friends as a result.”

“Please describe how you met Ms. Lance.”

“Oliver had texted me, wondering if I wanted to get coffee. I think he just wanted to get out of the house. I’d gone up to order, leaving Oliver alone at the table. When I came back with our drinks, Laurel was standing next to the table. I heard her ask, in a rude tone, if Oliver was still faking being mute.”

“And what was your response?”

“I got angry. He was just sitting there, he hadn’t tried to get her attention. He didn’t approach her. And she just walked up and decided to insult him. I asked her who exactly she thought she was and why she thought saying something like that was appropriate.”

“And what was her response?”

“She claimed that, since I didn’t know her history with Oliver, I wouldn’t understand. I said I didn't care what their history was and her behavior wasn’t appropriate, regardless of said history. I asked why she thought it was okay to harass him and her response was that, since she’s an attorney, she can’t harass anyone.”

“Objection! That’s not what I said.”

“Overruled.” The judge said. “You’ll have a chance to cross-examine the witness. Sit down or I will hold you in contempt.”

“When was the next time you saw or heard from Ms. Lance?”

“Two days after Oliver started staying with me. We came home from a meeting, and she was outside of my house. She demanded to talk to Oliver. When she refused to leave, I called the police, but she left before they arrived.”

“And after that?”

“She showed up a few more times. She also visited me at work more than once to confront me. After her second time coming to my place of work and causing a scene, Oliver and I decided to involve the police.”

“Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’d like to enter Exhibit C, video surveillance from outside Ms. Smoak’s home and Exhibit D, visitor logs from Queen Consolidated into evidence, along with this sworn statement from a Mr. George, a member of the company’s security team.” The DA said. He played the tape, which showed Laurel appearing outside of Felicity’s house multiple times. He stopped the tape after seeing a few visits and turned back to Felicity. “How did Ms. Lance get your address? She claims she was just a concerned friend, trying to help Oliver. If that’s the case, her coming to your house shouldn’t be out of the ordinary.”

“Because I never gave her my address and neither did Oliver.”

“She looked you up in the phonebook then.”

“She couldn’t have. I’m not listed, intentionally.”

“If you aren’t listed, then she had to get your address some other way, like the police database or your employee file, correct?”

“Yes. Except, QC digitalized their system a year ago. The system keeps track of any time personnel files are viewed and who views them. The last time anyone looked at my file was in June, ahead of a performance review.” Felicity explained.

“So, Ms. Lance got it from either the SCPD database or DMV records, both requiring a warrant. Unless, of course, Ms. Lance just asked her father to look up your name.”

“Objection, that’s hearsay.”

“Sustained. Reword the question or it’ll be stricken from the record.”

“Fine. Could you think of another way someone, any random person, could find your address?”

“No.”

“No more questions.” The DA said, sitting down.

“We will be taking a recess for lunch. We’ll reconvene in one hour for cross-examination.” The judge said before banging his gavel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel gets her chance to cross-examine Felicity.

When the judge announced they were taking a recess for lunch, John went out and grabbed some Big Belly Burger. He knew today was going to be a tough day for both Oliver and Felicity and wanted to do something to make the day suck slightly less for them.

Moira allowed Thea to skip school for the day so she could be there for the trial. She likely was hoping seeing both of them there would appeal to Oliver, make him miss his family and want to come home. When recess was called, Thea snuck away from her mother to find Oliver. She gave him a hug and praised him for doing so well on the stand. She knew it couldn't have been easy for Oliver to face Laurel or talk about some of the issues he was dealing with.

Sooner than anyone wanted, everyone was called back into the courtroom and Felicity returned to the witness stand. Unlike with Oliver, Laurel didn't pretend to be friends or at least friendly with Felicity.

“You said earlier that there was no way I could've gotten your address. Isn't it possible that Oliver told his mother where he was staying so she wouldn't be concerned and that she provided me with your address?”

“No.”

“No, that's it? You don't want to elaborate on that?”

“I could, I guess. It's possible that he could've told her my address but he didn't because from the moment he left the mansion with me until right now, he hasn't had any contact with his mother.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he told me, several times, that he didn't want to see or speak with her if she kept treating him the way she was. She didn't care about what he wanted, or what he thought would help him the most because it conflicted with the plans she'd made for him and hoped if she just kept pushing him, he'd be the son she wanted.”

“Uh, objection. What does this question have to do with the charges we’re discussing?” The DA asked.

“It doesn't.” The judge concluded. “Get back on track.”

“If I could just make a comment, your honor. It's related to Ms. Lance’s argument or at least, the one I think she’s trying to make.” Felicity said. The judge nodded for her to continue. “Oliver didn't want his mother to know where he was. He wouldn't have told her where he was staying, so she couldn’t have just given you my address. The DA already pointed out the two ways you could've found it out. And what happened the day after your arrest lends credibility to his theory.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When your father showed up at my house, trying to intimidate Oliver and myself into dropping the charges. Despite that fact that he doesn't even work in the department that arrested you.”

“You're lying!”

The judge banged his gavel. “I told you no outbursts in my courtroom. This is your second and last warning. Next time, I’ll hold you in contempt.”

“You have no evidence to support that claim.”

“Yes, I do. I gave the detectives the video tape, which they gave you a copy of, because they're required to.” Felicity said. “Along with my statement explaining that I chose not to make a big deal out of it because I think his anger was misplaced.”

Laurel took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. She'd ignored most of the evidence the DA had shared with her because she knew she was innocent and didn't see the point in wasting her time looking at it.  “Let's take a step back. You're a graduate of MIT.”

“Yes, I graduated at 19 with two Masters degrees.”

“And you moved to Starling, with those degrees, to become an IT technician.”

“No, I didn't. I'm not Geek Squad. I mostly work in applied sciences but I have a few projects in the technical division, mostly related to the company's cyber security or next generation processors.”

Laurel didn't understand most of what that meant. “Still, I find it awfully suspicious that the heir of Queen Consolidated became friends with one of his family's employees. How can we be sure that you aren't using Oliver to advance your career?”

“I'm not a manipulative person. And I don't need Oliver's friendship to be successful. I was already respected in the industry before he was found. And I work at QC because it gives me the chance to help more people than I could if I developed my projects independently. Google my name and you can see for yourself. In fact, some of the things I've been praised for the most are pieces of technology I created and developed without any input or assistance from the company.”

“So, you didn't befriend Oliver to benefit yourself. Perhaps to make yourself feel better.”

“Meaning?”

“Isn't it true that your cousin Emily was born deaf?”

“Yes.”

“And she wound up committing suicide. I think your guilt about what happened to her is being projected onto Oliver and everything you've done to ‘help’ Oliver is to assuage your own guilt.” Laurel concluded. Felicity could see a few of the jurors looking at Laurel incredulously for the question. They couldn’t believe that she’d brought that up in this context.

“Yes, Emily committed suicide, and I regret that I wasn't able to help her. Thank you for bringing that up, since I love being reminded of a family tragedy in a room full of strangers." Felicity said that last part sarcastically. "She passed away, and I spent the next few years trying to make sure no one else has to go through what she went through. I've developed apps and other tech to help not only deaf people like my cousin, but also blind people and those living with physical disabilities. Emily's death made me want to make this world a better place and make life easier for people. Someone else's insistence that Emily talk, despite knowing she didn't want to, is what led to her death. Oliver left home because his mother was doing that. She believed she could just force Oliver to talk and not put in any of the effort to help him get his voice back. He tried to get away from you because you continually insist that he's faking. I'm not his friend because of Emily and I didn't help him because I felt guilty. I did it because I'm a decent human being.” Felicity said.

“Oliver's mental health-”

“His health isn't the point. We aren't debating Oliver's health. This trial is because you keep harassing him, and me, and we wanted it to stop. I was tired of your showing up at my house. And my work. Oliver was tired of you going out of your way to attack him for something that happened five years ago.”

“He killed my sister.”

“Except you, and your father, keep forgetting something. Sara got on that boat willingly.” Was it fair for Felicity to throw Sara’s death in her sister’s face? Since Laurel decided to use Emily, Felicity thought it was more than fair.

“Look  you-”

“That's it. I'm holding you in contempt of court. When we finish today, a bailiff will escort you to a holding cell.” The judge ordered. “Ms. Smoak, I'm giving you a warning. Your behavior is out of line.”

“Sorry, your honor.” Felicity apologized.

Laurel’s defense was falling apart. Her argument was that Felicity was using Oliver, either to advance her career or to alleviate her guilt. She’d been so sure one of those theories had been true that she didn’t build a more solid way of arguing against the charges against her.

“No further questions.”

“Very well. Court is adjourned for the day. We will reconvene tomorrow morning at 9AM.” The judge said, ending the first day of the trial.

 

Oliver and Felicity fought their way back through the throng of reporters and went home. Laurel was escorted to a holding cell as the judge informed her she would be for her behavior in court that day. She knew she could simply apologize and would be let out, but she refused to. Felicity’s testimony had provoked her. While she was thinking over what happened in court, and trying to figure out what she was going to do for her defense now that her ‘Felicity is an untrustworthy, manipulative shrew’ argument had been ruined, someone came to visit her.

“What exactly was that?” Moira asked. “I hope your defense is more concrete than what I just saw during your cross-examination.”

“It doesn’t need to be. Stalking charges never result in convictions. The victims have to prove they feared for their safety, which is difficult because you can’t prove fear.” She said. “Which leaves the harassment charges, which are misdemeanors.”

“And the illegal information gathering?”

Laurel shrugged, not bothering to answer. Since when was asking her father for a favor a crime? She skipped past the paperwork, yes, but that was because she couldn’t fail Moira and needed to give Oliver a wake-up call.

“You should go. I didn’t do anything wrong. Soon, this will be over and we can get back to the real problem on our hands.”

Moira said goodbye and left. She passed Laurel’s coworker Joanna on the way out. Joanna had seen the very end of the trial today and realized Laurel was in over her head. The trial wasn’t going in her favor. The jury didn’t seem to like her and, on top of that, she doubted Laurel’s defense would go very well. She wanted to convince Laurel to let her represent her. She was more objective, given her distance from the crime being discussed. Laurel turned her down, saying she didn’t need someone else to represent her, just like she didn’t need the DA’s deal. The other attorney left and made a phone call to Quentin, hoping he could talk some sense into his daughter.

 

The second day of the trial began. After the pleasantries were observed and everyone was seated, the prosecution called their next witness.

“We call Thomas Merlyn to the stand.”

If looks could kill, Tommy would’ve been struck dead the second Laurel saw him enter the court room.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy testifies and the jury reaches a verdict.

The second day of the trial began. After the pleasantries were observed and everyone was seated, the prosecution called their next witness.

“We call Thomas Merlyn to the stand.”

If looks could kill, Tommy would’ve been struck dead the second Laurel saw him enter the court room. 

* * *

 

**Last Thursday**

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Laurel asked Tommy with her arms crossed. She wasn’t asking a lot, just for Tommy to testify on her behalf at her upcoming trial. She needed someone to say that she wasn’t stalking Oliver and that everything she was doing was to help him.

“I mean ‘I can’t’. If I could help, I would but I can’t.” He said. He was surprised she was even asking him for this, since the DA’s office gave her a list of their witnesses early in the week and his name was pretty high on that list.

“And what’s so important that you can’t reschedule it to help me? You do realize that Ollie’s new friend is trying to ruin my life and my career, right?”

If Tommy was more confrontational, he’d point out that Laurel had done enough to ruin her own career without help from Felicity. He didn’t though, because he wasn’t confrontational by nature. Instead, he went a different route. “Do you know what today is, Laurel?”

“November 13th.” She answered.

“Yes, which means tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of my mother’s death. Time sure flies, doesn’t it? I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

“I’m sorry Tommy, I-“

“I can’t help you. I’m sorry.” 

* * *

 

**Present**

Laurel was still processing Tommy’s arrival as he was sworn in. She came back to reality when the DA stood to question Tommy.

“Objection!”

“The prosecution hasn’t even asked a question yet.” The judge said.

“I object to Mr. Merlyn being called as a witness.”

“On what grounds?”

“I was not informed he was being called.”

“Your Honor, how long must we deal with this level of unprofessionalism?” The DA asked. “Mr. Merlyn’s name was on the list of witnesses we submitted to the court last week. The same list Ms. Lance acknowledged receiving. This is the third thing Ms. Lance was informed of, and objected to.”

“Do you have a legitimate reason why Mr. Merlyn’s testimony shouldn’t be allowed?” The judge asked.

“We were…involved. Romantically.”

“Mr. Merlyn, do you feel that you can give an accurate testimony on this matter without allowing your past with Ms. Lance to sway your responses?” The judge asked. Tommy nodded. “I also ask that the members of the jury take Mr. Merlyn’s past relationship with the defendant into account when reviewing his testimony. Please begin, Mr. Donner.”

“Tommy, could you tell me how you became involved in this case?”

“Yeah, I- I realized, with some help from Felicity, that I wasn’t being as supportive of Ollie as I could’ve been. So, I started doing some research on PTSD and things like that.” Tommy took a deep breath. “While I was doing that research, Laurel called me.”

“And what happened during that call?”

“She asked how much time I’d spent around Oliver since he returned and whether I’d testify about changes in his behavior. I told her I didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

“Did she tell you why she was asking?”

“She didn’t, but I learned why after. From someone else.”

The DA had been clued in on what Felicity and Oliver believed Laurel was planning, and decided not to pursue that line of questioning right now. He shifted gears.

“After your intial phone call, when was the next time you spoke with Ms. Lance?”

“The day after her arrest. She called me demanding to know why I wasn’t at her arraignment. No one made any attempt to tell me she’d been arrested, including her, so I was confused about why she was so angry.”

“And did she say anything else during that call?”

“Yes, she said that Oliver and Felicity embarrassed her. That she needed to get even and they had to pay.”

“So, not only did Ms. Lance repeatedly ignore Oliver and Felicity’s numerous requests to leave them alone, she decided they needed to be punished for doing something about the harassment. No more questions, Tommy.”

Laurel stood up and approached the wtiness stand. “I find it interesting that you’re here, since last week, you told me you were too busy mourning your mother to testify.”

“I told you I wasn’t able to testify on your behalf. I told you I was mourning my mom. I never said that my mother’s death was the reason I wasn’t able to testify.” He clarified. “When you asked me, Donner had already provided his list of witnesses. My name was very clearly on it.”

“The ‘someone else’ you learned my reason from, was it Oliver or Felicity Smoak?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Who was it then?”

“Objection, relevance? What Mr. Merlyn learned is not related to this case.” The DA said.

“Speaks to the credibility of his statement.” Laurel responded. “Who did you learn it from?”

“Jean Loring.”

“Mrs. Loring, as in Oliver’s attorney. Why would she reveal that information to you?”

“Because Oliver and I met with her the day after you called me to discuss something.”

“What did you discuss?”

“Again, relevance?” The DA asked. “Can Mr. Merlyn first say if what was discussed is relevant to the stalking, harassment or illegal information gathering charges before we go down this road?”

“Does your topic of conversation relate to the charges facing Ms. Lance?” The judge asked.

“No.”

“The objection is sustained.”

Laurel didn’t have any more questions, and admitted so. The prosecution rested and Laurel called her first witness, Joanna.

Since Laurel hadn’t looked at most of the evidence, her defense consisted of the idea that she was trying to help Oliver but was perhaps a little too forceful in doing so. She wasn’t able to explain to the jury what she was trying to help Oliver do, which weakened her argument. All of her witnesses were character witnesses, who were asked to testify on the kind of person Laurel was, not any facts of the case.

Joanna’s testimony painted Laurel as a determined lawyer, always trying to fight for what’s right and defend those who needed it most. The images she painted was marred when the DA cross-examined her and asked how often Laurel mentioned Oliver or Felicity in the last month. She was forced to admit that Laurel often brought them up, and usually not in a kind way.

Her father testified next. He insisted that Laurel was innocent and placed the blame, unsurprisingly, on Oliver. The DA wasn’t sure if the jury even listened to what he said. What father wouldn’t claim his daughter was innocent or that the situation was just a big misunderstanding?

The DA stood to question Lance, and the trial finally got interesting. “Mr. Lance-“

“It’s Detective Lance.”

“Sorry, detective. How did you get Felicity Smoak’s address? We’ve already shown the court that you appeared at her house following your daughter’s arrest.”

“From the police database.”

“And what reason did you have to look up that information? Certainly you’d agree that, given the situation, searching her name would be a conflict of interest.”

“I looked her up in the system before Laurel’s arrest.” Quentin said.

“Still, I’d like to know why. I think we all would, since Ms. Smoak’s record is clean.” Quentin looked over to Laurel for a split second. “May I remind you that you are under oath, detective?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“You plead the fifth. Probably because you looked Ms. Smoak up for Laurel, without a warrant or any kind of authorization. She probably just asked for a favor. It must be nice for her, not having to follow procedure like the rest of us.” The DA said. “No more questions, Your Honor.”

Lance left the courtroom and the judge called for a recess. Laurel sat at her table, fuming at the turn of events. The DA was gathering his papers and looked over to her.

“I already know how you’re going to answer, but do you wanna make a deal?”

“I’ll take my chances.”

 

The recess ended. Everyone was called back into the courtroom. Laurel and the DA both gave closing arguments. The jury was sent to deliberate.

‘What do you think will happen?’ Oliver aksed Felicity.

“I think, or at least I hope, they come back with a guilty verdict on most of it. The illegal information gathering charge is a little hard to prove, Lance didn't admit to it and we couldn't find any evidence, but she didn’t really have much of a defense at all.”

The jury returned before the end of the day. They’d reached a verdict. “In the case of Dinah Laurel Lance against Starling City, how do you find the defendant?”

“On the charge of illegal information gathering, we find her not guilty. On the charges of trespassing, harassment and stalking, we find the defendant guilty.” The foreman of the jury said.

“What?” Laurel shouted. She lost. How did she lose?

“Bailiff, take Ms. Lance into custody for contempt. Again. Sentencing will take place tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel, Quentin and to a lesser extent Moira face the consequences of their actions.

When the verdict was read aloud, there were a number of different reactions in the room. Laurel looked like she’d been hit by a truck, as did Moira albeit for different reasons. Lance looked livid. Tommy was resigned. Thea was almost giddy. The brunette had liked Laurel five years ago, but she wasn’t a fan of how she was acting now. She brought this on herself, and Thea was happy to see it wasn’t going to be swept under the rug. Felicity was relieved, while Oliver was torn between relief and guilt.

He was happy this mess was over, and that Laurel wouldn’t be able to treat him the way she had been anymore. He also felt bad that things had gotten to this point where taking Laurel to court and getting her convicted of a crime was the only option he had. Was there something he could’ve done differently? If he’d tried harder, would things have gotten this bad? The questions started to chip away at him as the furor died down and people started to leave the courtroom.

“We should probably get out of here.” Felicity said, pulling Oliver from his thoughts. “The press are gonna find out the verdict any second and I don’t wanna have to deal with that.”

‘You’re probably right.’ He responded. ‘Wanna get food?’

“My three favorite words.” She said with a smile.

Diggle helped them avoid the press long enough to exit out of the backdoor of the courthouse, with Tommy following after them. Felicity invited Tommy to get food with them, wanting to extend an olive branch to him.

Moira watched Oliver, Felicity and Tommy leave and, for the first time, started to wonder if she’d made a mistake. No matter what she did to try and get his attention, Oliver hadn’t looked at her at any point during the trial or his testimony. “Where is he going?”

“Probably out with his friends to celebrate.” Thea said. “I mean, they did win.”

“Celebrate? Laurel could go to prison.”

“First of all, she probably won’t. She was convicted of misdemeanors and at most she’ll spend a few weeks in jail. Second, she had plenty of chances to back off or take a deal and she didn’t. Third, she was harassing Ollie who’s just trying to get his life together. Who’s side are you on?” Thea asked. “I’m going to Ashley’s. I’ll see you at home.”

 

When the verdict was announced and Laurel was taken into custody, Lance got out of his seat and tried to follow after her. He was stopped by the bailiffs who wouldn’t let him into the holding area where she was. At the moment, to them, he wasn’t an officer of the law, he was just a father. Being Laurel’s father didn’t get him very far.

When it became clear that if he didn’t back off, he’d be taken into custody as well, Lance yelled to Laurel that everything would be okay before storming out of the courthouse. There had to be something he could do, some favor he could call in to get Laurel the smallest sentence possible.

He went back to the precinct, unsure of what else to do. Quentin was just starting the paperwork he’d let pile up over the last week when two other detectives walked in and approached him. They introduced themselves as Detectives Jones and Montoya, from Internal Affairs.

“We need to talk about your testimony today.” Montoya said.

“I don’t see why you do.” He countered.

“Yes, you do. You just don’t wanna admit it, because of what it means for you and for your daughter. We’ve already talked to Captain Stein. You’re on admin leave until the investigation’s over.” She responded.

“You can’t be serious.”

Before either of the IA detectives could respond, the Captain came out of his office. “Lance, they’re serious. You’re on desk duty. Give your case files to another detective.”

Quentin handed his files over and spent the rest of the day at his desk. As the day went on, he got angrier and angrier about the situation.

 

The bailiff escorted Laurel to a holding cell where she’d stay for the night. He closed the door, but didn’t walk away immediately. “Since you’re staying the night, is there someone you wanna call to bring you a change of clothes or something?”

“No, but I need a Petition to Appeal form.” She answered.

“You got convicted of a misdemeanor. You haven’t even been sentenced yet, and you already wanna appeal it?” In the 15 years the bailiff had been working in Starling, he’d never had something like this happen. He thought she was a little crazy before this, but now he was convinced. There were people falsely convicted of murder waiting years for an appeal, but she wanted to appeal a few misdemeanors.

“Yes. Get me the form.”

“Sorry, county clerk’s office is closed.” He told her before walking away.

Laurel changed her mind about calling someone when she realized she’d have to wear the same outfit again for sentencing if she didn’t ask someone to drop fresh clothes off.

 

The next morning, Oliver sat down in the courtroom, waiting for Laurel’s sentencing hearing to start. She hadn’t been brought in by the bailiff yet, but he was already nervous. Felicity sat on his right side. Tommy took a seat on his left. Thea sat next to Tommy, while John sat directly behind Oliver. They wanted to be sure that Oliver knew he had support, that he wasn’t alone.

When the door opened and Laurel was brought into the room, Felicity reached over and took Oliver’s hand.

‘It’s gonna be okay. The hard part is done.’ She signed to him with her other hand.

The judge came in and the hearing started. “Will the defendant please rise?” he said and Laurel stood. “Until now, you’ve had no criminal record, which is something I’ve taken into account when deciding your sentence. As has your work at CNRI. I sentence you to three years’ probation, which will require you to meet with a probation officer on a regular basis. You’ll also be fined $1,000 per offense and you are responsible for the court costs this case has accrued. I’m upholding the order of protection both victims obtained. Additionally, you are barred from seeing, contacting or using a third party to contact Mr. Queen or Ms. Smoak for the duration of your sentence. Failure to abide by the orders will result in violation of your probation.” He read out. “Are there any remarks you wish to make before we end this hearing?” Laurel shook her head. “Very well. Court adjourned.”

Oliver, Felicity and Tommy left as soon as the sentence was announced.

 

As Laurel was led out of the room, she tried to think of what her next step should be. She’d already started building her case arguing that Oliver wasn’t mentally sound. She wasn’t going to throw all of that work away for nothing. She also knew, if the sentence stayed the same, it would three years before she could take Oliver to court. Getting the conviction overturned was vital to her and Moira’s plans, but getting her sentence reduced could work just as well.

Moira watched Laurel being escorted away and started coming up with Plan B. Perhaps she’d acted too quickly when she approached Laurel to help her get Oliver back on track.

“Too bad she wasn’t fast enough to file that motion.” Thea remarked.

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you really think no one knew what you and Laurel were planning?” She said as she stood up. “Now that Laurel’s been convicted of stalking Oliver, no judge would even consider hearing the case.”

 

“So, that was a pretty good outcome, right?” Tommy asked as they left the building. “I mean, she has to leave you alone now or she goes to jail.”

“It’s more or less what we wanted.” Felicity admitted. “I mean, we didn’t want her to go to prison, but the judge could’ve just fined her and stopped there, so- overall, the best we could hope for.”

‘I wish it didn’t have to come to this.’ Oliver said.

“I know.” She responded. “Well, the last few days have been emotionally draining, so I think we’re gonna go.”

“See you later.” He said before heading to his car.

Oliver and Felicity got into Felicity’s car and drove towards her condo. He’d been thinking about something for a while, and after the last few days, he decided it was time to do something about it. Out of the corner of her eye while she was driving, she saw Oliver’s hands move.

She pulled over so she could face him. “Everything okay?”

He took a deep breath. It was now or never. ‘I have to tell you something, but I don’t want it to ruin our friendship.’

“Nothing you say, other than admitting you’re a Nazi or white supremacist, could ruin our friendship.” She told him. “What is it?”

‘I….I have feelings for you, Felicity.’ He told her. He turned to see her reaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Wanna yell at me for that ending?


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity responds to Oliver's confession, Laurel learns her sentence won't be the only consequences she faces and Moira starts to wonder if maybe, she made a mistake.

‘I…I have feelings for you, Felicity.’ Oliver told her. He turned to look at her, waiting for her to say something.

“You- when you say feelings, what exactly do you mean? Like friendship feelings or the other kind of feelings?” She asked.

‘The romantic kind.’ He answered. She was silent for several moments and he started to panic. ‘I messed this up, didn’t I? Forget I said anything.’

“No, I- you didn’t mess anything up. It’s- I have feelings for you too. The romantic kind.” She blurted out. “Your confession caught me kinda off-guard because I didn’t know you felt the same way and I- this doesn’t happen to me.”

‘What doesn’t happen to you?’

“I was never the prom queen. I was never the girl who every guy had a crush on. No one’s- every other person I’ve had feelings for hasn’t returned them.” She said quietly. “In fact, most of them thought I was annoying.”

‘They’re idiots then. You’re wonderful.’

“No, I’m not. I talk way too much, half the time I don’t even say anything important. I get wrapped up in my work. I make references no one outside of Comic Con would get. And if my nervous, babbling, ‘everything’s gonna be okay’ mentality doesn’t put them off, my intelligence does. Or my attitude or my stubbornness. Or just how mean I can be when someone hurts me or someone I care about.”

All of that was true, but Felicity was also worried about something else. Oliver had been through a lot, and Felicity had been nice to him when a lot of other people weren’t. She was worried that he was putting her on a pedestal or building her up to be this perfect, infallible woman who never did anything wrong and was going to somehow save him. She wasn’t perfect and she didn’t want him to think that she was.

‘I like the fact that you babble. It makes it easier for me to talk to you because I don’t feel like you’re sitting there, waiting for me to respond. You aren’t just trying to fill silence, but you also aren’t talking to me just because you think you should be. I like your references, because I’ve gotten to learn more about you and some things I missed while I was away. And you get so excited about those things. I might be a pessimist, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you feeling optimistic about things, You’re passionate about your work. You’re compassionate, even with someone you’ve only known for a week. You didn’t know me well at all but you were willing to help me, you came to my defense. As for you being mean, you aren’t.’

“You can’t really say that. If Laurel hadn’t been convicted, I was gonna do something to punish her. If the judge hadn’t interrupted me when I brought up Sara, I was gonna get very nasty just so that she’d regret bringing up Emily. The only reason I haven’t hatched a similar plot for your mother is because Thea’s a minor.” She said. “Like I used to tell my mom, I’m a good person until you piss me off.”

‘That’s not true. You’re a good person, but everyone has their limits. Your very firm stance on certain things is part of why I feel the way I feel about you.’ Oliver realized how he felt about Felicity weeks ago. It had taken him a long time to work up the courage to tell her. He was shocked and astounded that she returned his feelings. He was convinced that his mutism, his PTSD and all of his other problems made him impossible to love. He didn’t think anyone could love him, let alone someone as amazing as Felicity.

Felicity was quiet for several moments. “So, you have feelings for me. I have feelings for you. What happens now?”

‘If I remember correctly, this is the part where I ask you out on a date.’ He said. ‘Will you go out with me?’

“Yeah. 100%.”

 

Laurel left her meeting with her probation officer and headed to CNRI. She hadn’t been to the office since her arrest and knew there’d be a large pile of work waiting for her. Most of it was probably mundane paperwork, but the repetition would give her some time to think about what to do next.

She felt like everyone in the building was staring at her as she walked into the office, but ignored them. Her trial had been a big deal because of who Oliver was, but soon the buzz around it would fade and Laurel’s image would recover. She just needed one big win and then no one would care about her issues with Oliver. Laurel got to her desk and saw that most of her case files were gone.

“Where are all my files?” She asked Joanna who gave her a pitying look but didn’t answer. “Jo?”

“Allison reassigned your cases after your arrest.”

“What?! She can’t-“

“Ms. Lance, could I speak with you in my office please?” Allison, the woman who ran CNRI said as she walked up to the pair. Laurel gave a tense nod and followed her into the woman’s office. “We need to-“

“Why did you reassign my cases?”

“You were on trial. We couldn’t just ask our clients to wait until your case was resolved to handle theirs.” She explained.

“My trial’s over, so I can get back to work.”

“Your trial is over, but you weren’t acquitted. The charges weren’t dropped. You were convicted on almost all counts.”

“Yes, of misdemeanors.”

“Misdemeanor or not, you’re a convicted criminal. And your trial got a lot of attention. Most of it wasn’t good. And the Washington State Bar Association is considering an investigation into ethics violations. Your name is connected to this office’s. How would it look, for us, if you kept representing our clients in court?”

“So, you don’t wanna look bad.”

“We rely on public funds and charitable donations to keep this office open. In order for us to continue to help the people we serve, we can’t have you front and center making headlines. CNRI needs to distance itself from your actions and your behavior.”

“That’s it then? I’m fired?”

“No, you can assist on cases. Help others with research and discovery on their cases. We can’t have you taking on your own cases or representing anyone right now.”

“So, you want me to be a glorified paralegal.” Laurel scoffed.

“The only other alternative would be firing you, and we didn’t want to resort to that.”

 

Moira came back to the mansion after the sentencing and ran into Walter, who was carrying a suitcase. “Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving for Sydney tonight. This trip’s been in the works for several weeks.”

“Oh, right.” She said with a sigh. “I completely forgot about that happening.”

“Yes, you’ve been preoccupied with other things.” He remarked in an even tone. Saying Moira had been focused on only one thing over the last few weeks would’ve been an understatement. Walter was also convinced that everything she was doing was only making things worse in the long run.

“Is there something you’d like to say?”

“I need to go or I’ll miss my flight. We’ll talk when I get back.” He said as he made his way out of the house.

“Well, that went well.”

“Thea! I know you’re upset with me but-”

“No, no buts. You don’t get to make excuses. You’re in this situation because of choices you made. You could’ve avoided this.” She said, moving upstairs.

Moira stood alone in the foyer and thought about Thea’s words. Should she have done something differently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver relives a moment from his past and Thea gives Moira some hard truths.

Oliver struggled against his restraints. He needed to get out of there. He needed to stop the mercenaries that had captured him.

“You can struggle all you want, Mr. Queen. You won’t escape.” Their leader said as he circled the chair Oliver was captive in. “I believe its time that you and I had a chat.”

“Fuck you.” Oliver spat out.

“There’s no need to be rude.” The man stated as he broke one of Oliver’s fingers. “Let’s try this again.”

He wasn’t sure how long it went on for. It could’ve been hours or it could’ve just been minutes. He’d be asked a question, he wouldn’t answer and they’d torture him. He tried to keep quiet, but past a point, the pain became too much and he started to scream. He felt ashamed when that happened, and his torturer seemed to notice.

“Go right ahead and scream Oliver. No one can hear you. No one will save you. It doesn’t matter.” The man told him. “I think that’s enough for today.”

Instead of leaving the room as Oliver expected, as he always did, the door opened and a gurney was wheeled in. Someone was strapped to it. The person looked around and Oliver saw that it was Felicity.

“if you won’t tell me, perhaps she will.” The torturer said with an evil glint in his eye.

“Stay away from her!” Oliver shouted as he tried once again to break free. He was exhausted and on the verge of passing out, but he needed to break free. He had to save Felicity.

He could sort of hear a voice calling out to him. “Oliver? Oliver! OLIVER!”

 

With a gasp, Oliver shot up out of the bed. He looked around, panicked, and realized he was panting. Felicity was standing in the doorway looking worried. “Are you okay? No, of course you weren’t. You were thrashing around and whimpering. I didn’t wanna startle you, but I also didn’t want to just walk away and not try to help you.”

It had been a dream. Just a dream. Felicity was safe. The man couldn’t get to her. He was dead, his corpse was rotting on Lian Yu where he belonged. Oliver took several deep breaths and calmed himself down. It was dream. It wasn’t real.

‘Sorry I woke you up.’ He signed shakily.

“You didn’t, I was already awake.” She told him coming into the room. “Do you wanna talk about it? It seemed like a pretty bad nightmare.”

‘Memory. It wasn’t a dream; it was a memory. Or, at least, it started that way.’ He said. ‘I don’t wanna talk about it, if that’s okay.’

“Okay, then you don’t have to.” She said. “Whatever it was, it’s over now. You’re past it. You survived.”

‘Barely.’

“You might’ve barely survived, but you did survive. That’s important.” She said. “And while I’m not happy those things happened to you, I’m happy you survived them so that I got to meet you.” He gave her a tight smile but didn’t say anything. “It’s a little after seven. You should try and get some more sleep.”

‘I don’t think I can. I’m surprised I was able to sleep as much as I did.’

“Ok, well, I just started the coffee if you want some. I gotta go get ready for work.” She said, leaving his room.

 

Thea was eating breakfast when her mother came into the kitchen. She spent the whole previous night avoiding her because she didn’t think she could be in the same room as Moira without wanting to scream at her. She pretended to not even notice her mother walking into the room.

“Do you- have you spoken to Oliver recently?” Moira realized, after Laurel’s trial ended, that she’d gone about trying to help her son in the completely wrong way. She shouldn’t have gone to Laurel for help, nor should she have tried to control him in the first place.

Thea finished chewing her food and swallowed before answering. “Yes.”

“How is he doing?”

“Not great lately. The situation with Laurel, which you didn’t make any easier, wasn’t easy for him.” She answered. “Overall, he does seem to be doing better, according to Felicity.”

“Does he- if I tried to reach out to him, do you think he’d be willing to talk with me?”

“I don’t know.” The brunette answered honestly. “Maybe one day he’ll want to talk to you, but right now- you messed up badly. It’s gonna take a long time for you to undo the damage you caused.”

 

“When this is over, I’m gonna make both of them regret crossing me.” Laurel muttered to herself as she slammed another law book closed. She didn’t graduate at the top of her class in law school to end up like this. Her career was going exactly the way she planned until Oliver came back to life and he and Felicity ruined her career and trashed her image.

“Huh?” Joanna asked. She thought Laurel was talking to her.

“Oliver and that blonde bitch. I’m gonna get even with them.”

“I don’t know about Felicity Smoak, but the way you talk about Oliver…it kinda sounds like you still have feelings for him or something.”

“The only thing I feel is hatred.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” Jo responded, before seeing the time. “I gotta head to a deposition.”

 

Oliver’s dream was still fresh in his mind when he suited up to hit the streets as the vigilante later that night. It wasn’t rare for him to have flashbacks or nightmares about the island, but this was the first time his nightmares involved someone else. He started to worry. Was getting close to Felicity going to put her in danger? Could he protect her if someone tried to hurt her?

He put his concerns about Felicity on the back burner, as he needed to focus when he broke into Nelson Ravich’s office building. He was advancing towards the man when suddenly, Ravich began to smirk. A second later, he felt a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

“You should’ve brought a friend.” Ravich taunted.

Oliver’s hood wasn’t completely bulletproof, but it was made out a material that was supposed to be bullet resistant. The fabric kept the round of going into his body, but it still hurt like hell. He quickly took care of the guard before turning his attention back to Ravich. He pressed a button in his sleeve that played a recorded message.

“Nelson Ravich, you have failed this city.” The message went on to demand he return the $70 million he’d embezzled from ordinary citizens and that he had 24 hours to comply. He made it back to the foundry to ice his shoulder for a little bit before heading back to Felicity’s house. While he was recuperating in the lair, he came to a conclusion. No one knew who the vigilante was; no one had even gotten close. He could keep Felicity safe. He would keep her safe. On the way home, he sent her a text.

>>To: Felicity- About our date, how’s tomorrow sound?

>>From: Felicity- Sounds good to me!

He smiled at her response. Everything would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Due to boring, real life stuff, there won't be a chapter next week.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver (finally) go on a date.

Two days after Laurel’s sentencing, Moira woke up to find she had a message from Malcolm Merlyn. He wanted to see her immediately. She’d been so caught up with Oliver’s situation and the trial that she’d taken a step back from Tempest. Clearly, Malcolm wasn’t too pleased by this move. She went to his office first thing to see what he wanted to speak with her about.

“You wanted to see me.”

“Yes, Tempest is…behind schedule, thanks in part to your….recent distractions.”

“My son returned from the dead. He survived the accident you swore wouldn’t have any survivors. I had every reason to prioritize Oliver.” She pointed out.

“Perhaps, but we still don’t know what, if anything, he knows about his father or our undertaking.” He said pointedly.

“I didn’t see the point in wasting the time or resources to hire men to abduct a man who isn’t able to speak.” She said bluntly. “Even if he did know something, he couldn’t tell anyone.”

“Talking is not the only way to communicate or relay information, Moira.”

“He’s been back over a month. He hasn’t even mentioned Sara or Robert once. He doesn’t talk about his life before the island at all. Whatever happened there, it traumatized him. So much so that he nearly has a panic attack whenever the word ‘Gambit’, ‘yacht’ or ‘island’ are mentioned.” She said. “Whatever he might know, and I doubt he knows anything, he’s repressed it.”

“I suppose that’s good enough for now.” Merlyn said. “Now we should discuss Starling City’s newest self-appointed savoir, the Hood.”

“What about him? He’s just a random vigilante.”

“Nelson Ravich, Martin Somers, Adam Hunt. All targeted by him, all members of the List. In fact, every person he’s gone after has been on the List. That isn’t suspicious to you?”

“It’s one hell of a coincidence.”

“That’s one word for it. Watch your back, Moira. Someone’s onto us.” He said before dismissing her.

 

Oliver stood in front of the mirror in his room. His date with Felicity was tonight, he knew he should get ready. He was standing there in a towel and he couldn’t take his eyes off of his scarred body. He was so damaged, not just mentally but also physically. How could someone like Felicity be attracted to someone like him? He shook his head, trying to will the bad thoughts away. He put on a shirt so he couldn’t see his scars. He had a date, he needed to get dressed.

He needed to psych himself up first though. This was his first date in five years. He was terrified about something bad happening. The problem with anxiety was that Oliver could think of countless ways this date could go wrong. What if the paparazzi showed up? What if the waitstaff caused a scene when he tried to write his order down? What if he had a panic attack in the middle of dinner? What if he said the wrong thing and it offended Felicity?

Before he could work himself into a panic, he managed to get his phone out and text Thea. 

>>To: Speedy- I need you to do me a favor.

>>From: Speedy- Sure. Anything.

>>To: Speedy- Tell me this isn’t gonna blow up in my face.

>>From: Speedy- What’s not gonna blow up in your face?

>>To: Speedy- My date. With Felicity.

Seconds later, his phone started to ring. Thea wanted to FaceTime him. It occurred to him in that moment that he hadn’t told Thea he was going to ask Felicity out or that she’d said yes. He accepted the call and saw his excited sister on the other line.

“She said yes? Well, I knew she would but- yay! And it’s gonna go great. Everything’s gonna be fine. Just breathe.” She said. “What are you gonna wear?” He shrugged. “Are you going somewhere fancy?” Oliver gave the universal signal for ‘kinda’ and waited for Thea’s reaction. “Do you have a polo or button-down shirt and some slacks?” He nodded. “Wear that, no jacket.”

‘Thank you, Thea.’ He signed.

“Wait, did you say thanks? Did I interpret it correctly?” She asked. Thea had been learning ASL in her spare time and was excited that she picked some of it up. Oliver smiled and nodded. “Yay! I gotta go, but good luck!”

 

Oliver changed and went into the living room to wait. He and Felicity had agreed to leave around 6, since they had a reservation at 6:30. He wanted to be ready whenever she was. He was pleasantly surprised to see her walking out of her bedroom right as he walked out of his. He took in the sight of her and froze on the spot.

‘You look beautiful.’

“So do you. Wait, I didn’t- handsome. You look handsome. That’s what I meant to say.” She told him. “Ready to go?”

He nodded. They walked to her car and she drove towards the restaurant. He wanted where they were going to be a surprise, but he couldn’t really make it work considering someone had to call to make the reservation and he didn’t think to ask Tommy for help until it was too late.

They were shown to their table and thankfully, since the restaurant was small and intimate, they arrival didn’t attract too much attention. Too many people around made Oliver nervous.

“You know, I’ve driven past this place a few dozen times but I’ve never tried it. Always wanted to though.” She said after they were seated.

‘I did too. I’m glad we get to experience this place for the first time together.’ He told her. ‘I’m really glad you said yes to dinner.’

“I’m really glad you asked me to dinner.” She said with a smile. “How loudly did Thea scream when you told her? She hasn’t exactly been subtle.”

‘I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.’ His sister was many things, soft-spoken wasn’t one of them.

A waiter came and took their drink orders. Felicity ordered a glass of merlot while Oliver asked for a club soda. He nodded and left. Felicity tilted her head in confusion.

‘I’m not a big drinker these days.’ He told her. Part of his avoidance was due to alcohol leaving him with less control, which scared him. He was always on edge and when he drank, he actually became more on-edge because he was worried about it dulling his senses. Most of the reason Oliver didn’t drink very much, however, was related to an incident when he was missing. He tried to figure out how to word his reasoning but she stopped him.

“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. You don’t drink and that’s all you need to say. Will it bother you if I have wine?”

‘No, not at all.’ He said. The waiter returned and took their food orders. Felicity interpreted for Oliver and they were alone once again. ‘I know you keep saying I don’t have to tell you anything I don’t want to, but there’s something I think you should know.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What do you think Oliver's gonna tell Felicity?


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver tells Felicity a few things about his past and her reactions surprised him.

‘I know you keep saying I don’t have to tell you anything I don’t want to, but there’s something I think you should know.’ Oliver signed. It was better for everyone if she found this out now, rather than later.

Felicity slowly put her drink down and turned her attention fully to Oliver. “Okay, what is it?”

‘I had to do….certain things to survive. Unthinkable things.’ She needed to know exactly how messed up he was. She needed to see that he was a monster and that he deserved to be alone and unhappy.

“We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of.”

‘It’s different. I hurt people. I- I’ve killed people, Felicity. I did a lot of that when I was missing.’

It was silent for several seconds. Oliver was waiting for her to get up and leave. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she did. Felicity, meanwhile, was trying to find the right words to express what she was thinking to Oliver.

“Did you want to?” She asked quietly. “Those things you did, did you do them because you wanted to or because you had to?”

‘I had to. I was- if I didn’t kill them, they would’ve killed me. I was just trying to stay alive.’

“Exactly. I won’t say that it doesn’t matter, because it does. What you went through matters. But, you did those things because you were trying to survive and make it home. Surviving doesn’t make you a bad person, Oliver. And the fact that you feel so torn up about it means you’re still a good person. You feel guilt, you have regrets. It hurts but its good.”

‘I’m a monster.’

“No, you aren’t.”

‘Yes, I am. I should’ve- I should’ve tried harder.’

“You were on an island in the middle of the ocean, I think you did the best you could.” She said sympathetically.

‘I wasn’t there the whole time.’ he admitted. ‘There was a year where I was- I wasn’t on the island. I actually came back here for a bit. I had to break into my dad’s office and I saw- I saw you. You were babbling to yourself and- it made me smile, for the first time in years.’

“You saw me?” She said. “If you were here, why didn’t you-?” She stopped herself before she could ask why he didn’t just come home then. She figured, like everything else, it wouldn’t be easy to talk about.

‘There was someone who wouldn’t let me.’ He answered. ‘I don’t wanna talk about it.’ What Waller had done to him when ARGUS no longer needed his “skills” still made him furious and devasted to this day. Her actions ranked higher than the Gambit sinking on his list of worst things that ever happened to him. He didn’t want to think about it, he refused to think about it. Thinking about it only resulted in him feeling more pain.

“You don’t have to talk about it. I’m glad I was able to make you smile, even if it didn’t last very long.” She said, reaching over to take his hand. “You did the best you could. You kept yourself alive. You found your way home. That’s what’s important.”

After that very heavy conversation, Felicity started telling Oliver about one of her new projects. She knew their previous conversation had brought his mood way down and hoped talking about something completely unrelated would cheer him up. It took a little while, but eventually his mood lifted and they were able to enjoy their meal.

They left the restaurant and drove home. While stopped at a light, Oliver started signing. ‘There’s something else I need to tell you. My dad made it to the life raft, but he didn’t- he asked me to right his wrongs just before he died. It’s why-‘

“Why you became the vigilante.” She finished. “I’m sorry.”

‘He wanted to save me. He died trying to save me.’

“It doesn’t make watching him die, which I’m guessing you did, any easier.” She said.

He sighed. ‘I should be the one apologizing. Our date was supposed to be fun and I keep bringing up depressing things.’

“Not including the two very heavy discussions we had, I enjoyed myself. I think you did too.” She assured him. “And the things you told me, I feel like they’ve been weighing on you for a while. They’re important to you, they’re important to what happened to you. You aren’t selfish for wanting to ease some of that burden.”

‘You are amazing.’

 They reached Felicity’s condo and she parked the car. “So, this date went well.”

‘Yes, it did.’ He agreed. ‘Wanna go on another?’

“Definitely.”

His face turned into a huge, happy smile. He started fidgeting with his hands. ‘Can I kiss you?’

She nodded and he leaned in to kiss her. It was the perfect end to a not-so-perfect night.

 

Thea woke Oliver up at 7am the next day to FaceTime him and ask him how the date went. While she was able to get some stuff out of him, Oliver wasn’t big on sharing, so she wound up calling Felicity soon after to get a more detailed account of the night. Felicity didn’t tell Thea any of the private things Oliver had shared, but she told her most of the other stuff and that they were going to go out again, which thrilled the teenager.

 

Laurel walked into work. When she walked past a few of her coworkers, they all suddenly got quiet. Annoyingly, she was used to it. Ever since her trial, rooms tended to fall silent when she walked in. She held her head high and continued on her way. Once she cleared her name and made Oliver and Felicity pay, they’d all regret the way they treated her. She’d made sure of it.

She logged onto her computer and opened up a web browser. She was about to type in a website when a headline caught her eye.

OLIVER QUEEN FINDS NEW LOVE? Below the headline there was a picture of Oliver and Felicity, clearly on a date. It was probably taken discreetly by another customer, but it was clear that the photo was of the pair and they certainly looked cozy.

As soon as she saw the picture, she let out a scream. “WHAT?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel hears some hard truths and Oliver and Felicity have a lazy day.

OLIVER QUEEN FINDS NEW LOVE? Below the headline there was a picture of Oliver and Felicity, clearly on a date. It was probably taken discreetly by another customer, but it was clear that the photo was of the pair and they certainly looked cozy.

As soon as she saw the picture, Laurel let out a scream. “WHAT?!”

A few other attorneys snorted or rolled their eyes at her reaction. They knew she’d see the story eventually and had been waiting to see her reaction. It wasn’t startling that she was angry. They went back to work. Joanna and Allison, their boss, walked towards her.

“Laurel, is there a problem?” Allison asked.

“No, no problem. I was just….startled by something.”

“Ok, please remember this is an office environment in the future.” She said before walking away.

“You okay?” Joanna asked.

“He moved on. With her.”

“I know you’re still really pissed, but him dating someone doesn’t seem like a big deal.”’

“It is. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to pick me, to come begging for me to forgive him, for Sara. and they we’d-.”

“Wait, back up. You wanted him back? I thought you hated him?”

“I’m angry but Ollie and I just work together. We’re supposed to be the city’s power couple. But now he’s mute and I can’t very well date a mute.”

Joanna thought Laurel’s last sentence was messed up in about six different ways but didn’t say anything. Instead, she focused on something else she’d said. “I’m your friend, you know I’m on your side, but that doesn’t make sense. You wanted to hate him and you also wanted him to come crawling back. You can’t have it both ways.” Joanna said. “’I gotta get back to work.”

 

Oliver walked out of his room that morning and was surprised to see Felicity sitting in the living room, typing away on her computer. It was Friday and he’d been expecting her to be at work by now. She either heard his door close or sensed him standing there, because she turned to look at him with a soft smile.

“Good morning.”

‘Morning. I thought you’d be at work.’

“Normally, I would be, but luckily, Queen Consolidated is pretty flexible when it comes to telework. I don’t have to go in everyday, but a lot of my projects work better if I’m in the office.” She told him. “Sorry if I’m gonna mess up your plans to do….whatever you do when I’m not here.”

‘Oh, I wasn’t complaining.’ He told her. ‘Have you had breakfast yet?’

“Well, I made myself some toast and coffee.”

‘That doesn’t count as breakfast, no protein.’ He told her as he walked into the kitchen. ‘I will make you something.’

He came back about ten minutes later with an omelet and handed the plate to her. “Wow, you really didn’t need to go to this much trouble.”

‘It wasn’t any trouble.’ He told her.

After breakfast, Felicity went back to work and Oliver decided today was a good day to read one of the books that had been on his list for a while. He took a seat on the other side of the couch and opened the book. They stayed like that for a few hours, Oliver reading and Felicity hard at work doing some coding. It was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence.

“Good book?” She asked at one point.

‘So far, yes. I didn’t think I’d like it, to be honest.’

“Why not?”

‘When Thea mentioned it to me, I thought it was gonna be….a girly book.’

“A girly book?” Felicity repeated.

‘Like a romance novel or _Twilight_ or something. You know.’

“Really? Well, I guess that makes sense. She is a teenage girl, but I think she knew you’d be more interested in _Percy Jackson_ than _Twilight._ ” She said. “Are you at a good stopping point?”

‘I guess. Why?’

“Because I think it might be time for lunch, and since we’re both here, we should eat lunch together.” She suggested. “I’ve got some stuff for tomato soup and grilled cheese or we can go out somewhere.”

‘Tomato soup and grilled cheese.’ He said. ‘I missed that a lot.’

They both got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen together. Oliver heated the soup while Felicity made grilled cheese sandwiches. “So, other than reading, what are your plans for today?”

‘Usually I work out a little, but I don’t wanna be a distraction. Or I can go to the foundry and do that.’

“If you wanna work out here, I’m not gonna stop you.” She said. “I can go into my room or come in here if it makes you feel better. How do you explain being at an old steel factory late at night anyway?”

‘I own the building and the official story is that I’m in the process of renovating. Don’t know what the cover story will be.’

“Well, construction and renovations take a while, so you’ve got time.” She told him. The topic moved onto something else and before they knew it, Felicity realized she should get back to work. She opened her laptop back up and got to work. After a few assurances, she convinced Oliver that his exercise wouldn’t be a distraction.

She looked over the top of her computer as he did some push-ups and sit-ups on the floor of the living room. He moved over to one of the walls to do a headstand for a while and a few other exercises he needed to do against the wall, but she didn’t turn to watch him work out once he moved away from the couch. He came back into her line of sight and did another set of push-ups and sit-ups. When both sets were done, he realized how sweaty he was and took his shirt off.

He heard a quiet gasp from the couch. Felicity was sitting there, looking at him with a hand over her mouth. His eyes widened as he realized he was shirtless. He was shirtless and Felicity could see his scars. She could see his scars and now she knew how damaged he was. He picked his shirt up from where he dropped it and went to flee the room.

Her voice stopped him. “Please don’t go lock yourself in your room. I don’t want you to sit in there, all by yourself and think negative thoughts. I’m sorry I gasped. I was taken a little off guard.”

He put his shirt back on before responding. ‘Because you finally see how damaged I am.’

“You are not damaged, Oliver. You have scars, yes, but its because you went through something traumatic. I knew you had scars, but knowing you have them, and seeing them are two different things.” She said. “Do you-? Do they hurt?”

‘Not physically.’ He answered. ‘But every time I see them, I remember how I got them. They’re a part of me and I hate them, because they’re a reminder of what they did to me.”

“You’re right about one thing, they’re a part of you. And I can understand why you might see them that way, but they don’t just represent things that happened to you, they also represent that you survived those things.”

‘You aren’t disgusted by them?’

“No, of course not. They make me sad, but that’s because I get upset when I think about the things you’ve gone through. You survived things many people couldn’t. You have scars, but that doesn’t change the way I see you, the way I feel about you.” She told him.

‘You’re….unlike anyone else I’ve ever met.’ He said after a long moment of silence.

“I try.” She said with a soft smile. “Why don’t you finish your book?”

Oliver realized she was probably right, and sitting in his room wallowing wouldn’t help, so he sat back down on the couch and continued the book he was reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts?


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver tells Felicity about the List, which leads to a surprise revelation, Thea meets someone new and Laurel just can't help herself.

The day after Oliver had accidentally let Felicity see his scars, he woke up to a message from his mother. The text was rather long, and he was surprised to find his mother even knew how to text, but he read it anyway. The message was longer than it needed to be, but it could easily be summarized as Moira apologizing for her behavior and then asking Oliver to come to the mansion so they could talk. His emotions were hard to pin down after reading it. He was pleased his mother was finally starting to realize she was in the wrong. He was upset, and a little angry, that it had taken her so long and such drastic steps to realize it. The most pessimistic part of his mind thought this might just be another attempt to manipulate him. Oliver closed the messaging app for now. He didn’t need to respond right now.

He walked into the living room and found Felicity in front of the television. Her body was twisted in a strange shape and he immediately thought back to watching Shado do yoga on the island. Before he could become too immersed in his memory, she noticed him standing there and moved out of her pose.

“Hey! Did my video wake you up? I’m sorry.” She said quickly.

‘Nope. I woke up a little while ago.’ He assured her. ‘You do yoga?’

“When I have time. It helps me de-stress.” She shrugged. “What are you up to today?”

‘I’m not sure yet. Probably working on the List.’

“The List?”

‘I- I don’t wanna get into how I got the list, but it’s how I decide who the Arrow should go after.’ He told her. ‘They all failed this city in one way or another, and I need to stop them. That’s where this comes in.’ He held up the small, beige notebook he carried with him most of the time. It was too valuable to his mission, and too important to him on an emotional level, to risk it being misplaced.

“That journal has the list in it?” She asked. He noticed something off about her voice. She wasn’t asking out of pure curiosity. Or to keep the conversation going. She recognized the item and he wanted to know why.

‘Yes. Why do you ask? Have you seen it before?’

“Yeah, I- right before he went to Sydney, Walter asked me to look into a notebook that looks exactly like that one.” She admitted. “He seemed really freaked out by it, which is weird since the pages are just blank.”

‘They aren’t though. The ink can only be seen if the pages are exposed to either heat or UV light.’ Oliver admitted. ‘Where’s his version now?’

“In my bag. It isn’t his though. I don’t think he’d be as scared as he was if it belonged to him. But if he’d just found it and wondered why it was hidden or something…” She trailed off. She didn’t want to accuse Moira of anything, but it seemed like the notebook belonged to her and Walter wanted to know about it in order to protect her.

‘Can I see it?’ He asked. He didn’t want to jump to any conclusions until he confirmed the books were the same. He also knew, if they were the same, the other notebook would have the complete list. Oliver had torn out a few pages of his father’s copy in order to keep a fire on the island going, not realizing how valuable those few tiny sheets were. Felicity gave him the book and he locked himself in his room, studying it. She was a little worried, but she also knew the notebook was more than just a collection of paper to him.

 

Thea had woken up bright and early Saturday morning and snuck out of the mansion. She left partially because she wanted to avoid her mother, and partially because she wanted to visit Oliver. Her main reason for sneaking out though was that she needed to get to a rec center right outside the Glades by a certain time. Thea had started teaching herself ASL by watching videos online. She soon realized that she didn’t just want to understand Oliver, she wanted to be able to communicate fully with him in sign language. She started looking into classes and learned there was one held every Saturday at the rec center. When she got there, the room was empty except for the instructor and one other person, a teenager wearing a red hoodie.

“What are you doing here?” He asked her, clearly recognizing her. He was convinced she was either lost or came here as some kind of publicity stunt.

“Isn’t this where the sign language classes are held?” She responded. “I’m Thea.”

“I know. I’m Roy.” He said. “You wanna learn sign language? Why?”

“Why are you here?” She countered.

“Stephanie needed at least one person to show up so the center wouldn’t cancel the class.” He said, nodding towards the instructor. “I’ve known her since forever, so when she asked I couldn’t really turn her down.”

“My brother is mute. He either uses ASL or he writes things down. I wanna learn so that I can still have conversations with him. This is the only class in the city.” Thea admitted.

“I see we have a full house today.” Stephanie said, getting their attention. “Let’s get started.”

 

Oliver studied the notebook from Felicity for about an hour before he was convinced he’d gotten every name on the list written down. Now, he knew the names of everyone his father wanted him to save the city from, not just most of them. He left his room and gave the notebook back to Felicity, thanking her.

‘Sorry I ran off with it.’

“Well, I didn’t even know what it was until you told me. I thought your stepfather was just being paranoid.” She said. “And I don’t need to know the whole story to know that that notebook’s not just a notebook to you.”

‘My father gave it to me right before he died. While we were on the life raft.’ He said. ‘It was his dying wish.’

“Like I said, its not just a notebook to you.” She said. “Ugh, I need to head to the store. We’re almost out of milk and toilet paper, among other things.”

‘I can go.’

“Nah, it’s okay. You do most of the cooking, I can do the buying.” She waved him off. “There’s a shop just down the street.”

‘Can I come with you then?’ He asked. ‘I think I need to get used to being around more than just you, Tommy, Thea and John.’ He might not like people for the most part, but he recognized that he needed to start getting more comfortable around others. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life only leaving the house to fight crime.

“Okay.” She agreed and they left soon after.

They were walking through the store when Oliver told Felicity he’d forgotten to grab something in one of the other aisles. He told her he’d be right back and left to go get it. Felicity stayed in the cereal aisle, trying to remember which type of Cheerios she hated.

“It’s a phase you know.” A voice, an annoyingly familiar voice, said from her left. “You and him, I mean. He might like you, but in the end, he’ll always pick me.” Laurel said with a smirk.

Felicity put the cereal box down and turned to face her directly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel makes a big mistake and Lance refuses to give up.

“It’s a phase you know.” A voice, an annoyingly familiar voice, said from her left. “You and him, I mean. He might like you, but in the end, he’ll always pick me.” Laurel said with a smirk.

Felicity put the cereal box down and turned to face her directly. “I can’t tell if you’re delusional or just stupid.”

“You’re calling me stupid?”

“Yeah. Do you not know what the words ‘restraining order’ mean? You aren’t supposed to be near me or Oliver.”

“This is a public place. You can’t demand that I leave.”

“No, you’re right, I can’t. But the parameters of our orders against you clearly state that, if you happen to be in the same public place with us, you are barred from approaching us. Which you have now done. So, you’re either delusional, stupid or no one taught you that in law school.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but Felicity was right. She was supposed to avoid them in public, as stated in the restraining order they had. Still, Laurel saw them standing there, looking so happy and she just couldn’t resist. She had to say something. “I’ll have you know that- oh, hi Ollie.” She said with a disgusted tone. “Decide to come back after she yelled at me for you? Are you that scared of me?”

‘I’m not scared of you.’ He signed and Felicity translated. ‘I forgot something. And I don’t need Felicity to yell at you for me.’

“Oh really?”

“Look, I don’t know if you followed us or if this was a genuine coincidence, and I kinda don’t care. We’re trying to buy groceries, so can you just go away? You’re mad things didn’t turn out your way, you’re pissed Oliver moved on.” Felicity said. “We get it. Let’s move on because this is getting a little pathetic.”

“Pathetic? You-!” Laurel started to yell.

“Is there a problem here, folks?” A man dressed in the store uniform, probably the manager, asked walking up to them.

Laurel seemed to realize other people could overhear their argument and stormed off.

“Not anymore, but I was wondering if we could talk in your office.” Felicity said. She was fairly sure this store had security cameras and that footage would be useful. “It’s a bit of a complicated situation.”

“Right this way.” He gestured towards the back of the store. They talked to the manager for about fifteen minutes. The man was more than happy to give Felicity a copy of the security footage. It even had audio that proved Laurel approached Felicity, not vice versa.

‘What are you gonna do?’ Oliver asked Felicity on their way out of the shop. ‘With the tape I mean.’

“I don’t know. I should give it to the SCPD, have them bring her in for violating her probation. I don’t know if that’ll make things better though.”

‘How could they get worse?’

“It’s gonna sound dumb, but I kinda hoped that, since she’s supposed to leave us alone, she’d take the time to deal with some of the underlying issues she has. It’s like- she’s not just angry, she’s obsessed. And if she goes to prison, she might never work on those issues.” Felicity didn’t like Laurel. She didn’t think she ever would, but some of her actions made her feel sorry for her. The attorney clearly had a lot of problems and Felicity was a compassionate person by nature.

‘It’s not dumb to hope someone will stop being self-destructive. At the same time, she needs to be the one to decide she needs to change. And it’s not our responsibility to help her.’ He told her.

 

Felicity decided to wait until Monday morning to decide if she should go to the SCPD and deliver the store surveillance video to the detectives. Two days gave her enough time to think things over fully and consider what would happen.

 

“Lance, what the hell are you doing?” One of the other detectives asked Quentin when they walked past his desk. He was hunched over a bunch of case files, reading them like they had the answers to life. “Thought you were in administrative leave.”

“I am.” He answered.

“What are you doing with a bunch of open case files then?”

“It’s a…a side project. Helps with the boredom.” He said. He’d tried to look more into Felicity Smoak, but got nowhere. Oliver was a different matter. He knew the man was lying about something, covering something up. He was going to find out what it was. Even if it meant pouring over every open case file since Queen's return.

The other detective looked at him warily before going to talk to their captain. He didn’t know why Lance was obsessing over the vigilante case files, but he thought their commanding officer should know.

 

 Monday morning, Laurel went into CNRI. Joanna asked her how her weekend was, which led to Laurel venting about what happened at the store. Over the last week, Joanna had realized how much Laurel needed help. The time for just suggesting she leave Oliver alone was over.

“Why did you talk to them at all?”

“I just saw them and I needed to make it clear to her that-.”

“No, you didn’t. You could’ve and should’ve kept on shopping and not even let them know you were there. You’re my friend, but you need to start seeing a therapist or something.”

“I’m not crazy!”

“I didn’t say you were, but all I ever hear is you complaining about Oliver and Felicity. You keep insisting you need to ‘get even’ with them. Now, you violated your probation to try and get under her skin. That’s not good.”

“I didn’t talk to her for long.”

“That doesn’t matter. You still violated the restraining order. That’s all the court’s gonna care about.”

“It’s not gonna get to that. It’ll be my word against theirs and the manager only came over at the end of our conversation.” She waved her friend off.

“You really think a store in 2012 isn’t gonna have security cameras?” Joanna countered.

Around 11:30 am, two SCPD officers came to CNRI and arrested Laurel for violating the conditions of her restraining order, and thus her probation. As she was being escorted out the building, she was yelling about how they ‘couldn’t do this to her’ and how she’d fight to clear her name. Joanna watched it play out and regretted not encouraging Laurel to seek help sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity tries to make something clear to her coworkers and gets a surprise visitor.

The day Laurel got arrested, again, Felicity was at work. She’d been in the middle of a meeting with the board about one of her projects when the story broke. She didn’t plan it that way, but it was excellent timing since she doubted any of the board members would so much as glance at their phones during her presentation. She didn’t count on their assistants though.

All at once, phones began to vibrate with the news update. The board ignored it, but Felicity saw several of the younger people in the room grab their phones and subtly look at them under the table.

“Is something wrong Miranda?” The COO asked his EA.

“Laurel Lance was just arrested for violating her probation.” She said. All eyes turned to Felicity. The blonde fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course everyone cared more about her reaction to this news than the groundbreaking things she was working on. Technological breakthroughs weren’t as important as tabloid drama, after all.

“We’re hoping to begin production in the next three weeks.” Felicity said, wrapping up her presentation. “Why is everyone staring at me? If she got arrested, that’s because of something she did.”

“We know that, but I feel like this may be a good time to discuss this situation and it’s impact on the company.”

“It’s impact on the company? There hasn’t been one. Stock prices have risen, not lowered. The court case didn’t impact productivity. I don’t see how it’s impact Queen Consolidated.” The CFO spoke up. Felicity gave him a small smile. She’d always liked the CFO.

“It’s not just about stock price, its also about perception.” Someone from PR said.

“Perception.” Felicity said, kind of in disbelief. “Do you know how many times the company was mentioned by name in court? Twice. Once in referring to piece of evidence and a second time when the defendant decided to grasp at straws. I’m trying to put the whole situation behind me, we both are. And, I know Oliver’s name being on the side of this building doesn’t help, but we’ve both done all that we could.”

“We still need to make a statement.” The PR person said. “Get ahead of any more press on this.”

“You’re better at that than I am. Why don’t you handle that and I’ll get back to working on my implantable biostimulant for people with serious spinal injuries?” She suggested. “Glad we cleared that up.”

She spent the rest of the day in her office, trying to ignore the curious employees who wanted to know what happened and attempting to work out what was missing in her prototype implant. When she was about to leave, she saw a text from Oliver.

>>From: Oliver- There’s a very excited blonde woman on the front step. Are you expecting someone? Should I let her in?

>>To: Oliver- This is gonna sound weird, but send me a picture.

Felicity was pretty sure she knew who it was, but she needed confirmation. A few seconds later, Oliver sent her a picture. As she both expected and feared, it was her mother.

>>To: Oliver- It’s my mother. Let her in. Tell her I’ll be home soon. She knows ASL, so she won’t be weird about you signing.

She really should’ve seen this coming. Between how long she’d been avoiding talking to her mother, the court case and the recent publicity, it wasn’t surprising that Donna would come for a visit. She just wished her mom would’ve told her she was visiting before appearing at her front door.

 She unlocked the door to her house and saw Donna sitting on one end of the couch, facing Oliver who was telling her something. It was such a small moment, but it made Felicity happy to see Oliver seem so relaxed around someone who wasn’t her or Thea. She knew he heard the door open because his shoulders tensed slightly.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? How you meet people who end up being important in the most mundane situations?” Donna asked. “’Hey sweetie. Oliver was just telling me about how he met you when his phone broke.”

‘I’m glad it did.’ He signed after waving hello to her.

“Me too.” She told him as she walked over to hug her mother. “How have you been?”

“Good, I wish you would’ve told me what was going on with that girl before it was all over the news.” She said pointedly.

“I know, but it wasn’t your fight.”

“After what she said about Emily-.”

“Mom, it wasn’t your fight. It was Oliver’s and to a lesser extent, mine.”

‘I’m sorry she said those things.’ Oliver told both of them.

“You don’t need to apologize.” Both Smoaks said at the same time. Felicity then continued. “Can we please start talking about something else?”

“Ok, let’s talk about the very handsome man you’re living with.” Her mother said. “And the fact that you didn’t tell me you were dating someone.”

“We had a lot going on, and we just- our relationship is new. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“You’re getting to know each other, but you live together.”

“Mom, its complicated.” She said in a warning tone. Felicity and Oliver had done things out of order, and she was perfectly okay with that. She just didn’t want Oliver to freak out about it and think he needed to leave. “We didn’t do things the normal way, but normal’s boring and it works for us.”

“Oh, I’m the last person that’s ever gonna tell you to be more normal.” She remarked.

“I’m gonna go change into sweatpants. Will you two be okay?” Felicity asked.

“We’ll be fine.” Donna assured her. “So, Oliver, tell me a little more about yourself. What do you like to do?”

‘I read a lot. I just finished the first book in the _Percy Jackson_ series after my sister recommended them.’ He answered. ‘I also like cooking and I’ve started experimenting with food.’

“Oh, a man who cooks.” She remarked. “What’s your favorite meal you’ve made so far?”

‘The chicken parmigiana I made for Felicity a few days ago. It sounds lame, but I like sharing my cooking with other people, especially Felicity.’ Oliver remembered the night he’d made the dish for her. It wasn’t an important night or anything, but it stood out because of how much she said she liked it. Seeing her so excited made him really excited. A smile formed on his face when he thought about it.

Donna saw the look on his face and a soft smile formed on her own face. It was easy for anyone to see that Oliver really cared about Felicity. “Yeah, Felicity’s pretty special, isn’t she?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quentin just can't quit, Donna, Felicity and Oliver discuss the board's actions earlier that day and Thea stops by for a visit.

“You’re joking.” Captain Stein said, looking at Lance with a bored expression. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“it’s not.”

“So, you’ve lost your mind then.”

“It makes sense!” Lance argued.

“In what universe does Oliver Queen being the vigilante make sense?” Stein countered.

“The Hood appeared after Queen came back from the dead.”

“Yeah, its quite the coincidence.”

“It’s not-.”

“Look, Quentin, we both know what this is. Your daughter’s trial didn’t go the way you wanted it to and you wanna make Queen pay for it somehow. So, you’ve come up with some crazy theory to fit your bias.” The captain said. “I’m not gonna sit here and enable that. Queen isn’t the vigilante and you aren’t even supposed to be looking at those files. You’re still in hot water with IA. Don’t make it worse.”

Felicity came back out into the living room after changing her clothes and Oliver changed the subject before Donna could say anything else about his feelings towards Felicity. He cared a lot about her, he was pretty sure that he loved her, but he was also worried that it was really soon in their relationship to tell her that. He didn’t want to tell her and freak her out, since saying ‘I love you’ was a huge step in any relationship.

“So, how’s Vegas?” Felicity asked her mother.

“Good. The girls at the Grand are good as well. They say ‘hi’. Amber, a new waitress, told me she saw you at some kind of press conference on TV a few days ago.” Donna answered. “She asked if we knew each other.”

“And of course, you spent the next hour gushing about how proud you are of me.” Felicity knew the other woman had probably caught the press conference where Queen Consolidated announced a number of upcoming biomedical projects they were starting.

“Yes, and why shouldn’t I? I raised a successful, compassionate, genius child, on my own, who’s done a lot of impressive things to help others.” She said. “Not only am I allowed to brag about you, I deserve to.”

‘Your mother is right.’ Oliver signed. ‘You’ve helped a lot of people. Most of whom you’ll probably never even meet. You should be proud of yourself.’

“I am, its just- your ex-girlfriend’s making things hard.” She said with a sigh.

‘What did she do? I thought she got arrested today.’

“She did, but her arrest made the news, while I was doing a presentation in front of the board. And they wanted to talk about it, and how its effecting the company.” She explained. “I don’t know why they don’t understand the phrases ‘I’m trying to move on’ and ‘I didn’t escalate things’. But, you know, blame the victim and all that.”

“They’re giving you a hard time because you did something about being harassed?” Donna asked angrily. “You should’ve quit right then and there and taken your big, beautiful brain somewhere else.”

‘That doesn’t make sense.’ Oliver said after a few moments. ‘The thing with Laurel doesn’t have anything to do with QC. And since the trial started, stock prices and profits have both risen.’ Felicity and Donna looked at him in confusion. They were surprised he knew that. ‘I inherited my grandfather’s stake in the company. I get earnings reports and I pay attention to how the company’s doing. It’s doing well, and the board shouldn’t make you explain yourself to them.’

“Well, your name is also involved in the Laurel fiasco, and its on the side of the building, so they can claim there’s a presumed association between the case and the company. It’s still a load of crap.”

“Can we stop talking about boring business stuff?” Donna asked. “I’m visiting you for the first time in two years. I don’t wanna hear about boring work stuff.”

“You won’t hear me compl-.” Felicity began to say but there was a knock at the door. She stood up. “I swear to Google, if Lance is here to hurl accusations.” She muttered as she made her way over to see who it was.

“Who’s Lance?” Donna whispered.

‘Laurel’s father who’s a detective.’

Felicity checked the peephole before opening the door. “Hi, Thea.”

“Hey. I’m sorry to drop by like this, especially without calling, but I was wondering. Is Ollie here?” She asked.

“Yeah. Is everything okay?” Felicity said, moving out of the way so she could come inside.

“What? No, everything’s fine. Just haven’t seen him in a while.” She answered, walking inside. She saw Donna. “Oh, I didn’t know you had a guest. I can come back. I should’ve called.”

“You’re already here. Thea, this is my mother Donna. Mom, this is Oliver’s sister.”

The two women exchanged greetings and Oliver waved hello to Thea. The teenager took a deep breath before responding. “Sorry, I don’t wanna mess this up.” She said before she began to sign. ‘Hi Oliver. It’s nice to see you. How are you doing?’ She then looked to Felicity. “Did I- did I do it right? I’ve been practicing but-.”

“It was perfect.” Both Smoak women said.

‘You- you’re learning ASL?’ Oliver signed, slower than usual. ‘For me?’

‘Of course. You’re my brother and-.’ She stopped signing. “I don’t know how to sign the next part yet. I wanted to learn so you wouldn’t have to write everything down or text me all the time. I wanna be able to have a conversation with you.” She looked at him hopefully.

Oliver felt something wet on his face. It took him a few seconds to realize he was crying. Thea looked like she was going to apologize but then he said something. ‘Don’t say sorry. This is…I’m crying because I’m happy.’ When he’d come back from the island, Oliver thought he’d be miserable. He expected to be miserable. He couldn’t have predicted meeting Felicity. He thought his family would reject him for being different now. He expected to lose the few real friends he had from before the island. He couldn’t believe that Thea was so accepting of him and willing to spend her free time learning to communicate with him a little better. ‘Thank you, Speedy.’

Thea stayed for about an hour before she went home. Both Queen siblings thought it was nice to spend time together without the trial or Moira’s actions hanging over their heads. After Thea left, Oliver, Donna and Felicity spoke for a few more hours before Donna decided to go to bed. That was when Felicity realized they had a problem. Her condo only had one guest room, and Oliver was staying in it. She couldn’t ask him, or Donna to sleep on the couch. Felicity tried to convince Donna to take her bed, but her mother wouldn’t hear of it. Oliver then volunteered to sleep on the couch, but Felicity was worried it wouldn’t be comfortable to sleep on and didn’t want him to be sore the next morning. Oliver and Donna both insisted that Felicity not sleep on the couch either.

“The solution’s simple, sweetie.” Donna said. “I’ll take the guest room and you two share Felicity’s bed. You’re both adults. I think you can handle it.”

Her logic made sense, and it was the best possible option. Felicity and Donna stripped Oliver’s bed and changed the sheets. Donna went to bed and Oliver and Felicity stood awkwardly in the living room. Neither was sure what to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity have to share a bed, and they're roommates. (Oh my god, they're roommates). Also, Oliver finds out some information about the List.

“The solution’s simple, sweetie.” Donna said. “I’ll take the guest room and you two share Felicity’s bed. You’re both adults. I think you can handle it.”

Her logic made sense, and it was the best possible option. Felicity and Donna stripped Oliver’s bed and changed the sheets. Donna went to bed and Oliver and Felicity stood awkwardly in the living room. Nether was sure what to do now.

“You know what? She’s right. We’re grown-ups. We’re probably making this a bigger deal than it really is.” Felicity said.

‘You’re probably right. Like always.’ Oliver signed. He wasn’t as confident as Felicity seemed to be, but decided to go with the flow.

A few seconds later, Felicity yawned. Oliver did as well. “Well, I guess that means its time for bed.” She declared. “Come on.” She gestured for him to follow her into her room.

Even though he’d been living there for weeks, Felicity’s bedroom was the only room in the house he hadn’t been in to. it was her personal space and he didn’t want to invade her privacy. He was also fairly certain she wasn’t hiding anything groundbreaking or life-altering in there. He entered the room and saw that the walls were painted a pale purple shade. He looked around and noticed that the room fit Felicity’s personality really well. He could quite explain it, but it suited her. He noticed a frame painting hanging on one wall and moved closer to it.

‘Was this the painting Emily made for you?’ He asked.

“Yeah, it- you remember me telling you about that?”

‘I remember most of the things you tell me.’ He answered. ‘It’s a fantastic painting. She was really talented.’

“Yeah, she was.” The blonde said with a soft smile. Then, she realized they needed to talk about logistics of sharing a bed. “Which side? I mean, do you have a preference?”

‘I was gonna sleep on the floor. It wouldn’t be the first time.’

“No. if I’m not letting you sleep on the couch, I’m definitely not letting you sleep on the floor.” She said sternly. “Do you care which side?”

Oliver looked around the room. The bed was situated in the middle of the room. There was a window on the opposite side of the room as the door. If he slept closer to the window, he knew he had a way out and wouldn’t feel boxed in. If he slept closer to the door, though, he could protect Felicity from an intruder. He doubted he’d do much sleeping to begin with, between his nightmares and his nerves. He looked between the window and the door for several moments before making a decision.

‘I’ll take the left side.’ The side that was closer to the door. If someone broke in and wanted to hurt Felicity, they would need to get past him first. ‘If you don’t mind. I think I’ll be able to sleep better on that side.’

“Fine by me.” She said. “So, do you wanna- should we make a wall of pillows or something?”

‘For what?’

“So you won’t worry as much. I can tell you’re worried about having a nightmare and hurting me. It’s the look on your face. You need to get some sleep, so if putting up some pillows makes you worry less, helps you get some sleep, we can do that.” She said.

‘Not pillows.’ He signed. If he woke up and couldn’t see her, he would go into a panic. ‘Is there a blanket we could wedge between us. It won’t sit as high as a stack of pillows.’

Felicity found a fluffy comforter she rarely used and folded it a few times before putting it down the middle of her king-sized bed. It was enough of a barrier to satisfy Oliver, but he could still see her from where he was laying. With that matter settled, they wished each other goodnight and went to sleep.

Oliver stayed awake, staring at the ceiling for a while. He found it difficult to shut his mind off most nights. After an unknown amount of time, he heard a strange, but cute, noise coming from next to him. Peering over the blanket wall, he saw that Felicity was fast asleep. He should’ve known that even her snores would be adorable. He let the noise lull him to sleep.

 

Felicity woke up the next morning and felt a weight around her abdomen. She was confused and couldn’t figure out what could be laying on her. She opened her eyes and looked down. There was an arm wrapped around her waist. A hairy, male arm. Oliver’s arm. The blanket wall had been pushed over, and at some point during the night, Oliver had snuggled up against her. Slowly, Felicity tried to extract herself from under his arm, but when she moved, his grip tightened. Realizing the only way to get free was to wake Oliver up, she quietly said his name. he stirred but didn’t awaken. She repeated it, a little louder, but still close to a whisper. Nothing. She tried one more time, and this time, his eyes opened.

He seemed to realize the position they were in and quickly moved his arm. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-.’

“It’s okay. You didn’t hurt me and I wasn’t uncomfortable.” She assured him. “I just need to use the bathroom.” She jumped out of bed, relieved herself and came back into the bedroom. “Don’t look so guilty. I’m not mad or anything. It was kinda nice. How did you sleep?”

‘Pretty good.’ Better than pretty good. Last night was one of the best night’s sleeps he’d had since coming back from the island. ‘No nightmares.’

“That’s good. Actually, no, that’s great.” She said, before looking at the clock. “I’m change and gonna make some coffee. I’m working remote today, but I like keeping my routine consistent, you know?”

He nodded. Felicity changed out of her pajamas and was about to head out of the room when he waved to get her attention. ‘Last night was nice. I like sleeping next to you.’

“Aw. You’re so sweet.” She said, leaning over to kiss him. “I like sleeping next to you too.”

Donna looked only slightly smug when they walked into the kitchen smiling while she was drinking her coffee. Her plan to bring those two closer together had worked.

 

Donna’s visit lasted a few more days. Felicity and Oliver continued to share a bed during her stay. They only had one ‘bad’ night when Oliver had a nightmare, but nothing serious happened. He didn’t lash out or hurt Felicity. She told him later, after it had passed, that his limbs twitched a lot and let out a sound that was close to whimpering. Oliver went out as the Hood twice while Donna was visiting and took down two lesser known people on his father’s list.

The day after Donna left, Oliver began investigating Frank Chen, a former associate of his father’s. When he realized Chen had connections to the Triad, he knew he needed to act sooner rather than later. When he first approached Chen, trying to scare him, an unexpected thing happened.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Chen asked after Oliver had taken out his security. “You’re targeting the List. The members of Tempest.” He didn’t receive a response. “How do you even know about the Undertaking?”

Oliver fired an arrow just past his head and whole Chen was recovering from the panic he felt, the archer escaped. Tempest. The Undertaking. It sounded very ominous. Ominous, and like something his father would want him to stop. Was it possible he had missed the real meaning behind his father’s last words?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> I know everyone wanted some sexy-times, but it just didn't feel right at this stage.


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver begin to investigate Tempest, the blonde finds something surprising, and Laurel receives an unexpected visitor.

After his confrontation with Frank Chen, Oliver barely remembered making it back to the foundry or changing out of his green hood. His mind was replaying what happened with Chen over and over. The words kept repeating in his mind. He was somehow able to make it back to Felicity’s in one piece, despite not paying much attention to the road as he drove.

It was Friday night, so the blonde was wide awake when he got back. She turned the TV volume down when he came in and turned to face him. She was about to ask how it went when she saw the look on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

‘Chen said something when I confronted him. He seemed to know about the List.’

“That’s….unsettling. Did he say anything else?”

‘He implied that the people on the List were part of some group called Tempest. And he mentioned something called the Undertaking.’ Oliver told her. ‘The name sounds…’

“Familiar?” She filled in, but he shook his head. “Ominous?” He nodded. “Like something your dad would want you to stop?” He nodded again.

‘What if I’ve been doing this wrong all along? What if this Undertaking is what my dad meant by telling me to right his wrongs?’

“That’s possible, and if that’s the case, its good that you learned about it.” She said. “But the fact you’re learning about it now doesn’t mean you failed.”

‘It feels like I did.’ Of course, Robert wanted him to stop the Undertaking. He felt foolish for thinking his father wanted him to take down each person on the List one at a time. That would’ve taken years. He’d wasted so much time fulfilling his father’s last wish in the wrong way.

“Oliver, from what you told me, your father gave you the notebook, told you to fix what he broke and died. I hate being that blunt, but it’s the only way for me to say it.” She said. “He didn’t tell you what that list was, how you were supposed to use it, any of it. You had no way of knowing about Tempest’s existence or that this Undertaking was being planned. Not unless you learned it from someone else. Which you did. You were doing what you thought he wanted because you didn’t have any reason to think the List was part of some major plot.”

‘Why couldn’t he have just told me?’ He asked.

“I don’t know. I think that’s one question we’ll never get an answer to.” She said. “But Tempest and the Undertaking, those sound like mysteries we can solve. You now know they exist, there’s a connection between the group, the List and whatever the Undertaking is. What do you wanna do now?”

‘Find out what Tempest and the Undertaking are. What they’re planning. I don’t even know where to start.’ He said.

“Why don’t I do some research into Tempest. You can look into more connections between the names on the List. And I think another visit to Frank Chen might be in order. It seems like he’s kinda chatty, which is good for us.”

‘Us?’

She gave him a funny look. “Did you think I wasn’t gonna help you or something?” She asked. “Not a chance. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” She then yawned. “I’m gonna get some searches started, but then I’m going to bed.”

‘Sleep well.’

 

While Felicity and Oliver were talking, Chen had recovered from the terror of facing down the Hood. As soon as he was sure the archer was gone, he called the other Tempest members. They needed to know what had happened. He found himself in Malcolm Merlyn’s office, along with Moira Queen and half a dozen others, within the hour.

“-took out my security to have ‘a word’ with me.” He said, as he finished telling the story.

“And what exactly did he say?” Malcolm asked.

“He didn’t say anything beyond ‘you have failed this city’.” He left out the part where the Hood didn’t say anything because he let slip about the List, Tempest and the Undertaking. “I think it’s clear now that he’s targeting the List.”

“We knew that.” Moira said. “But the List doesn’t just relate to our undertaking. This is the first time a member of our group has been targeted.”

“You think he knows, somehow, what we’re doing?”

“Specifics, I doubt, but he clearly has a very good idea.” Malcolm said. “Well, we can’t do much for now. Moira, if I could speak to you?” The others left and Moira waited for Malcolm to speak. “There’s only so many people who could have the List that weren’t in this room.”

“Not this again. Robert drowned. He wouldn’t have had time to tell Oliver about the List, let alone give him his copy of it.”

“It’s unlikely, but its possible. The only person who can say for sure is Oliver. Maybe he doesn’t have the List, maybe this is all just a coincidence. I’d rather be certain, wouldn’t you?”

“And how are you gonna do that?”

“Easy. This Hood wanted someone’s attention. He finally caught mine.” He said before walking away.

 

Laurel let the prison guards lead her down the hallway to the visitors room. They’d told her she had a visitor, but she couldn’t imagine who it was. Her father maybe. Joanna. Other than those two, she couldn’t think of anyone who would visit her here. unless it was Oliver and Felicity, coming to gloat. She took a seat at one of the tables and her jaw dropped.

“Mom?”

“Sorry I didn’t visit earlier.” Dinah said. “I didn’t think things would get this far.” When she didn’t stop Sara from leaving with Oliver five years ago, she had no way of knowing things would end up like this. Sara dead, Oliver traumatized, and Quentin and Laurel doing everything they could to get revenge on him for an accident.

“Well, they did, because of Ollie and that stupid, blonde-.”

“They didn’t put you in here, you did.” She said, cutting Laurel off. “Your actions got you arrested and imprisoned.”

“Easier for you to say, you left.”

“Yes, I did. Maybe that was a mistake, but I can’t change the past.” She said. “You need to stop this. Let go of all of this anger.”

“He killed Sara! He hasn’t even said sorry! He’s faking being sick so he doesn’t have to. And he got me locked up here because I was the only person who didn’t fall for his lies.”

“I don’t think Oliver’s smart enough to fool multiple mental health professionals.” Her mother said. “I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told your father earlier today: What happened to Sara was an accident. You need to stop trying to punish him for it. Look at where your anger has gotten you.”

 

The next morning, after a very unrestful night, Oliver walked out into the living room to find Felicity hunched over her computer. She was talking to herself and typing furiously. She saw him move and looked up.

“Good morning. You look…did you sleep okay?” She asked. She didn’t want to say it, but he looked exhausted.

‘No, I didn’t.’ He answered truthfully. Ever since Donna had gone back to Vegas, and he went back to sleeping in the guest room, he hadn’t been able to sleep very well. ‘Nightmares.’

“I’m sorry.”

‘You didn’t cause them.’

“I’m also sorry for what I’m about to tell you.” She said. “It’s about Tempest. It’s a fake company, no surprise there, but they own a warehouse in town. I can give you the address.”

‘Why is that something you feel sorry for?’

“Because your mother invested $2.2 million in the fake company. A few months after your father’s yacht went missing.” She said. “And it looks like that wasn’t the only time she’s given them money.”

‘You think she’s a part of this…group?’

“I think its possible.” Felicity answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> No chapter next week, because I'll be on vacation.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walter returns from Australia, and Oliver makes a discovery.

‘You think she’s a part of this…group?’

“I think its possible.” Felicity answered. “Walter got the List from her. Chen said the names on the List were part of, or at least connected to, Tempest. Your mother invested in this fake company. I don’t know what it means, but its one hell of a coincidence if its not related.”

‘Why would- she paid them after the Gambit went missing?’ Oliver asked.

“Yes. Eight weeks after the yacht was reported missing.” She answered. She stopped herself from telling him that the money was paid right before the search for any survivors was called off. She didn’t want to dump too much on him at once.

Oliver stared into space for a few moments. He didn’t want to believe that his mother was involved with these people, the people his father wanted him to stop. He also couldn’t manage to convince himself that she definitely wasn’t affiliated with them. Five years ago, it would’ve seemed impossible, but now, after her recent behavior, he couldn’t say that he knew she couldn’t be involved. He decided to push those thoughts aside for now. ‘You said there was a warehouse Tempest owns?’

“Yes. And I’ll give you the address, after we discuss it with John tonight.” She’d called him earlier and asked him to come to the abandoned steel factory that night.

‘Why wait?’

“In case it’s a trap. Even if it isn’t, if you both check it out, you can search the building faster.” She said. “Besides, its broad daylight and you’d be spotted by the police, which you don’t want. I’ll keep digging into Tempest while we wait.”

 

Walter’s return from Sydney was awkward to say the least. He arrived home in the early morning, so the family had breakfast together. Things were still noticeably strained between him and Moira, and judging by Thea’s behavior, she was still angry with her mother. The teen did seem excited that he was home, however. She told him what she’d been up to while he was in Australia and he listened with rapt attention.The meal ended when Moira left the table, saying she needed to attend a meeting about an upcoming charity event.

“Have you seen Oliver since the trial ended?” He asked casually.

“He hasn’t come back here, but I’ve seen him.” She said. “He’s doing a lot better. I think he realized he had more people on his side than he thought during the trial and that helped him feel less broken about not being able to speak.”

“I’m glad.” He said.

“You should text him and ask if he’s willing to speak with you. It doesn’t hurt to ask and if he’s not ready now, he may be soon.”

“I spoke to Ms. Smoak and asked her to pass my message along.”

“That was before the trial even started, before Laurel’s arrest.” Thea reminded him. “And he’s come a long way since then.” She stood up and left the table. Walter sat there for a little while longer, thinking about Thea’s words.

 

Around dusk, Oliver and Felicity left her condo and drove to Oliver’s lair. He hated calling it that, but Felicity joked that that’s exactly what it was, and since he didn’t have a name for it, ‘the lair’ would have to do. ‘Lair’ sounded better than ‘the abandoned steel factory Oliver inherited and had no other use for’ anyway. Felicity started up the computers in the hideout and triple-checked her findings while they waited for John.

Fifteen minutes later, he came down the stairs. “Sorry I’m late. What’s this about?”

“Oliver confronted someone on his dad’s list. The man was rather….chatty. He said he knew the Hood was targeting the List, and implied that some, if not all, of the names on the List are part of some secret group called Tempest. And they’re planning something.” She told him. “It’s called the Undertaking, which is appropriately ominous.”

“Do you know what they’re planning?”

“Nope, not yet.” She said. “But I did find out that they have a warehouse in town. Oliver wants to go check it out and you going with him is a better idea than if I go. I’m useless in a fight.”

‘I don’t think that’s completely true.’ Oliver told her. ‘You’re a badass.’

“Maybe, but I don’t have any of your ninja moves and I wasn’t taught how to kick ass and take names in the army like Digg was.” She said doing karate hand gestures.

Digg and Oliver left as soon as Felicity gave them a location. The building wasn’t in a bad part of town like Oliver had expected. Sure, it was out of the way and the area around it wasn’t busy, but the location didn’t seem as suspicious as he would’ve guessed. He supposed that’s why they’d been able to keep things under wraps for so long. The warehouse didn’t attract any unwanted attention, and thus Tempest didn’t attract attention.

They approached the main entrance and saw that there was a keypad on it. “Looks like we need a passcode. Or the Hood can just shoot the lock.” John said. Oliver took an arrow out of his quiver, nocked it and prepared to fire.

“No, do not shoot the lock.” Felicity told them.

Oliver lowered his bow and John spoke. “Ok, we won’t. Just out of curiosity, why shouldn’t we?”

“Because it could be wired to an alarm. Or worse, shooting either the keypad or the lock could trigger some failsafe that destroys whatever’s inside. That keypad’s advanced, its gotta be connected to something I can hack. Give me a minute.” She began typing furiously. “Okay, found the password. It’s Robert.”

“Just to clarify. Passcode’s Robert, as in Robert Queen?”

“Yup.” She said awkwardly. Any doubt she had about Moira being a part of Tempest vanished when she discovered the passcode.

Oliver entered the code and the door unlocked. Silently, he and John made their way inside. There weren’t guards inside the building, and other than the keypad, there didn’t seem to be any security measures in place. The warehouse was mostly one giant, open room. Most of the empty space was filled up by debris. Oliver froze as soon as he saw it, but Digg kept moving until he saw realized what they were looking at.

“There aren’t any cameras in there I can hack, so someone wanna tell me what’s going on?” Felicity said.

“It’s the Gambit.” Digg whispered. “Someone salvaged the remains of the Gambit.” He raised the flashlight in his hand to get a closer look at the sunken boat. Something caught his eye. “We have a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Oliver discover something that will change everything, and everyone else struggles to figure out what to do with this information.

“There aren’t any cameras in there I can hack, so someone wanna tell me what’s going on?” Felicity said.

“It’s the Gambit.” Digg whispered. “Someone salvaged the remains of the Gambit.” He raised the flashlight in his hand to get a closer look at the sunken boat. Something caught his eye. “We have a problem.”

“Problem? What problem? Are you in danger? Is someone else there?” She asked.

“No, none of that.” He answered. “There’s a…..there’s a giant gaping hole in the side of the Gambit. I don’t think what happened was an accident.”

Felicity closed her eyes. Never in a million years would she have guessed that the Gambit had been salvaged and stored right under everyone’s noses. She couldn’t imagine how this felt for Oliver. “And Oliver?”

“He hasn’t moved since he saw the debris.” He whispered.

“Take as many pictures as you can and get out of there.” She told them.

“Why?”

“I think this has been a secret for way too long, don’t you?” She asked. “I’m gonna call the police.”

Digg took pictures of the debris from as many angles as possible. Some were close up, others were wide shots showing that most, if not all, pieces had been found and assembled. He told Felicity when he was done. She disabled the lock on the building and called 9-1-1. Oliver had stopped staring at the debris and was now focused on the ground in front of him.

“Oliver?”

He didn’t look at John or try to communicate anything. He just turned and walked out of the building. They were a few blocks away when they heard sirens coming towards them. The police cars drove right past them to the warehouse.

“Queen’s Gambit found salvaged in Starling” was the top story on the 11 o’clock news and the headline on the next day’s paper. Digg took Oliver back to Felicity’s condo, still dressed in his green hood. He’d been near-catatonic since he saw the yacht. He just sat on the couch, staring ahead of him.

“Oliver?” She asked quietly. She knew he’d have a reaction to seeing the Gambit. She expected one, and she knew it wouldn’t be good. She wasn’t quite expecting this though. He was clearly in shock, and she couldn’t get a read on him. “Do you wanna change out of your hood?” Finally, a reaction. He shook his head. “Is it okay if I sit down next to you?” He nodded. She took a seat on the couch next to him. After a few minutes, he reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “I know.” They stayed like that for over an hour, in silence, before Oliver began signing.

‘It wasn’t an accident.’

“Based on the photos John sent me, no it doesn’t look like it was.” She said.

‘The island, Sara’s death, my condition. It all happened because the Gambit sank. Someone did this to me.’

“And we’re gonna find out who. We’re gonna make sure they pay for this.” She promised him.

‘How?’

“I found the warehouse, didn’t I? You found out about Tempest, didn’t you? We’re gonna find the answers to this.” She said.

‘Someone did this to me.’ He repeated.

Felicity reached a hand up and started rubbing Oliver’s shoulder. She didn’t know what to say. There was nothing to say, no words would fix this. She could, however, remind Oliver that he wasn’t alone. After a few moments, he leaned over so that his head was resting on her shoulder. She started running her fingers through his hair. She felt him start to shake and a few tears fell onto her shirt. He was crying and she sat there, holding him, until his tears dried up.

 

Malcolm, furious, stormed into Frank Chen’s office. He demanded that every Tempest member be available for a meeting immediately. Not wanting to attract the wrong attention, the meeting wasn’t being held at Merlyn Global Group this time.

“How the hell did this happen?” He shouted.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have kept the debris in a warehouse in the city.” One of the members said.

“Or it shouldn’t have been salvaged at all.” Another said, looking pointedly at Moira.

“I thought it would bring me closure. It didn’t, but I couldn’t bring myself to dispose of it either.” She defended.

“Well, now the whole city knows the Gambit was salvaged. The building’s under lockdown by the SCPD, the Coast Guard and several federal agencies. The giant hole in the side of it isn’t gonna stay hidden for long.”

“Robert had plenty of enemies. And this type of things is like catnip for conspiracy theorists. I’m not worried about the Gambit being found.” Malcolm said. “I wanna know how the warehouse was found. It’s owned by a shell corporation. The security is too advanced for someone to just stumble into the building. Someone knew about its existence and decided to search it.”

“You don’t think the man in the hood-?”

“Someone had to tip off the SCPD.” He reasoned. “And the Hood has been sniffing around our business a lot lately.”

“How would he even know about Tempest in the first place?” Chen asked.

 

The day after Oliver and John found the Gambit, the archer was still somewhat in shock. Still, it was better than the previous night. He was reacting to things Felicity said to him at least and not just staring into space. The problem was that he couldn’t quite process what had happened. His mother was part of some group called Tempest. Tempest at the wreckage of the Gambit in a warehouse. The Gambit was most likely sabotaged. Did his mother know the Gambit was sabotaged? Did she help sabotage it? His brain couldn’t handle thinking about those questions, so he wandered around in a haze.

Around noon, there was a knock at the door. Felicity, who was home, went to answer it. She turned the knob and Thea stormed in, followed by Tommy.

“Is Ollie here? Did you see the news? Does he-?” Thea and Tommy had both woken up to the news. The authorities were being tight-lipped, but one station reported that it was possible there was foul play involved in the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit. For them, it was like déjà vu, five years earlier, they woke up to the news of the yacht being lost.

“Yes to the first two, and I don’t know about that last one.” The blonde answered. “He’s in the living room. He’s not quite- I don’t think he knows how to process the news.”

“Is it okay if we see him?” Tommy asked.

“I’m not gonna stop you, just….if he doesn’t respond or react, don’t be surprised.” She said. “And ask him before you touch him.”

Oliver’s sister and oldest friend rounded the corner into the living room and saw him sitting on the couch. He saw them and stood up. He didn’t greet either of them, but walked over to Thea and wrapped her up in a hug. He was devastated by what he’d found and he knew the news would also devastate his sister. Thea broke down in his arms, and Oliver felt a tear roll down his cheek.

“I, um, I’ve got no clue what to say here.” Tommy admitted.

“I don’t think anyone does. I don’t think anyone could ever think of the right thing to say.” Felicity said.

Oliver spent the day with Felicity, Thea and Tommy. They didn’t do anything, but he liked being reminded that he wasn’t alone. While Thea and Tommy were there, Felicity excused herself to get some programs running. She wanted to know everything Moira and Tempest were involved in, immediately.

A few days after the story broke, after the press realized Oliver wasn’t going to make an appearance any time soon, Felicity telling Oliver about her day when there was another knock at the door. She opened it to see Walter standing there.

“I apologize for showing up unexpectedly, but I’d like to speak with Oliver.”

“I’ll see if he’s up for company. The last few days have been difficult.” She said evenly. She went and asked Oliver if he wanted to see Walter. To her surprise, he agreed. She went back to the door. “He wants to talk to you. Please don’t mention the Gambit.”

She showed him inside and excused herself, wanting to give them some privacy.

“Hello Oliver.”

 _Hey Walter. It’s good to see you._ Oliver scribbled on a notepad. _What brings you by?_

“There’s something I need to discuss with you, and I don’t know if it can wait.” He said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What does Walter want to tell Oliver?


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walter and Oliver talk, Laurel hears something surprising and someone learns a surprisingly piece of information.

Walter walked into Felicity’s living room and sat down in the chair across from the couch. “Hello Oliver.”

 _Hey Walter. It’s good to see you._ Oliver scribbled on a notepad. _What brings you by?_

“There’s something I need to discuss with you, and I don’t know if it can wait.” He said.

Oliver immediately started to panic. _Is Thea okay?_

“Thea is fine, Oliver. She is struggling to comprehend…. recent events, but nothing has happened.” He assured him. “Before I say what I need to, I must apologize.”

_For what?_

“When you first returned home, I wanted to give you space. You knew me only peripherally before you left, and wanting to get to know you better could wait. You were adjusting and trying to find some form of normalcy. I wanted to allow you time to do that.” He explained. “And, unfortunately, in giving you space, I was complicit in allowing others to treat you in a way that wasn’t conducive to your well-being or mental health.” He sighed. “Specifically, your mother. I want, and need, to apologize for that. I wasn’t seeing how her actions were impacting you.”

_It’s not your fault. ~~She~~ No one could’ve known she’d react the way she did._

“Still, I should have at least tried to talk to her about her behavior. I didn’t, and that is on me.” He said. “I’m not here to talk about your mother, I came to talk about you.”

_What about me?_

“I want to ask how you are doing, and if there’s anything I can do to help you?”

_The last few days have been ~~difficult. A nightmare.~~ I was doing really well, and then the SCPD found what they found. _

“I can imagine.” Walter said. “Things between your mother and I are strained, and I know you don’t know me very well, but I wanted to tell you that, if you ever need my help, I’m here. I would like to get to know my stepson.”

 _I’d like that too._ He wrote.

Walter placed the envelope in his hand on the coffee table. “Your father once told me that if anything happened to him, I should give you the contents of this package. I’d nearly forgotten about his comment until the news of the Gambit being found broke.”

_What’s in the envelope?_

“I don’t know. Your father handed it to me sealed, and as you can see, the seal is intact.” He said. “Open it when you’re ready.”

_Thank you._

Walter stayed for about fifteen more minutes before taking his leave. He knew Oliver had a lot on his mind and a lot to think about. Felicity considered reminding him that she had the notebook he’d given her, with Moira’s copy of the List, but stopped herself. If he wasn’t going to ask for the List back, she didn’t see a reason to remind him.

 

Laurel sat in her cell and stewed. Oliver got her thrown in prison. He’d somehow turned her own mother against her. She might get disbarred because of him. if anyone should be in prison, it should be Oliver, not her. A guard came and unlocked the door to her cell. It was time for breakfast. Laurel made her way through the food line and sat down at an empty table.

Most of the inmates glared at her. When she first arrived at the prison, she kept yelling and whining about how her being in prison wasn’t fair, and how they couldn’t do this to her. Nothing ever came of it, and most of the other women viewed her as an entitled bitch who thought she was better than them. A few guards were sure the only reason she hadn’t been attacked before now was because her father was a cop.

Laurel was choking down her oatmeal when someone called out to her.

“Hey, Lance, you hear the news?” One of the women at the table next to her yelled.

“Did I hear what?” She said, barely containing an eyeroll.

“They found the boat your baby sister died on.” She said. “Someone rigged it to blow. Seems you were a bitch to your ex for no reason.”

“You’re lying.”

“I don’t give enough of a shit about you, or your fucking dead sister, to lie.” She said with a scoff.

Laurel sat glaring at her food for the rest of breakfast. When a guard was escorting her back to her cell, she asked him if the news were true. He told her the remnants of the Gambit had been found, and that the authorities hadn’t dismissed the possibility of foul play.

As she sat in her cell, for the first time since Oliver returned, Laurel started to wonder if she’d made a mistake. Maybe Oliver wasn’t to blame for Sara’s death.

 

After Walter left, Oliver and Felicity watched a movie. The blonde had searches running for anything suspicious happening in or around Starling for the last nine years. She had another laptop open that was looking into every business deal, charity organization or opportunity Moira Queen was involved in or connected to. She didn’t know who Tempest was or what their plan might be, but she was determined to find an answer eventually.

Oliver must’ve been exhausted, because he fell asleep a third of the way into the movie, leaning over so that his head was resting on Felicity’s shoulder. He woke up when the credits started to roll.

‘Sorry.’

“You don’t need to apologize. Did you have a nice nap?”

‘Yes. I sleep better around you.’ He answered before his cheeks turned red from embarrassment.

“Aw, don’t be embarrassed. It’s nice. And I like sleeping with you too. I mean, around you, because we haven’t- you know what I mean.”

‘Yes, I do.’

“Do you wanna- maybe tonight, we should sleep in the same bed. I mean, I miss you being next to me, and maybe if you know you aren’t by yourself, even subconsciously, you might sleep better.” She suggested.

He looked at her for several moments. ‘I think it’s worth a shot.’

 

John had just gotten off the phone with Carly. He called her once a week to check in and see how AJ was doing. His feelings for his brother’s widow were complicated, but he wanted to make sure, no matter what, that they were looked after and that his nephew had exactly what he needed. He’d just hung up the phone when there was a knock at his door.

He opened it to find a surprising person on the other side. “Lyla? What are you-?”

His ex-wife cut him off. “I don’t have time for pleasantries right now, Johnny. I know you’ve been working with the Hood, or the Arrow, or whatever name he’s going by. There’s something Oliver needs to know.”

“How-? You said ‘Oliver’, not ‘Oliver Queen’. You know him. How?”

She sighed. “He wasn’t on that island the whole time he was “dead”. We met about three years ago. In Moscow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, Thea and Walter all deal with the fallout of the Gambit being found, Oliver and Felicity get a little bit closer and Oliver reunites with someone he never expected to see again.

Digg had just started to ask Lyla why she was here when she cut him off.

“I don’t have time for pleasantries right now, Johnny. I know you’ve been working with the Hood, or the Arrow, or whatever name he’s going by. There’s something Oliver needs to know.”

“How-? You said ‘Oliver’, not ‘Oliver Queen’. You know him. How?”

She sighed. “He wasn’t on that island the whole time he was “dead”. We met about three years ago. In Moscow.”

“He left the- you knew he was alive?” He asked.

“It’s complicated.” She said. “We were in Moscow, he was my partner. I need to talk to him.” She needed to talk to him now.

“We’ll go in the morning then.”

 

After he left Felicity’s condo, Walter drove back to Queen Mansion. His discussion with Oliver had gone better than he anticipated and he hoped Oliver knew that he was sincere in his desire to help. He arrived home to find the mansion quiet and made his way upstairs. He ran into Thea on his way to his bedroom.

“I take it I missed dinner.”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t in the mood for a family dinner anyway.” The teen responded. “Where were you?”

“I went to see Oliver. I wanted to see how he was doing after the news broke. How are you faring?”

“I don’t know, I mean- I thought they died in a storm. A storm, which meant it was beyond anyone’s control, no one could’ve stopped it. I could hate the ocean as much as I wanted for taking Ollie and my dad away.” She said, “But that’s- it’s not- the police don’t think it was an accident, and if that’s the case, then it means-.”

“It means someone killed your father and tried to kill Oliver.”

“it’s not just that, its- have you actually seen Oliver’s scars? Because I have. I walked in on him once, before I realized- he has a lot of scars, too many to be self-inflicted or accidental. I’m starting to think he wasn’t alone, and if the Gambit sinking wasn’t an accident, it means whoever sabotaged the yacht is responsible for what happened, what someone might’ve done to him.”

“That thought hadn’t occurred to me.”

“What hadn’t occurred to you?” Moira asked from behind them.

“What the far-reaching implications of the Queen’s Gambit being tampered with means.” He said. “How are you handling the news?”

“It’s been….tough. And an unexpected shock.” She said.

 

“Lance, my office, now.” Captain Pike said as he walked past Quentin’s desk. He was unhappy about the situation with Lance and IA and now he had even more of a reason to regret ever meeting the detective.

Quentin stood and walked into the room. “You hear back from IA? Am I reinstated yet?”

“You were never discharged, just moved to a less public area.” Pike said. “And no, I haven’t heard from them. We need to talk about yesterday though.”

“Frank, you have kids. If all of a sudden, you learned the accident that killed one of them might not have been an accident, you’d want to know what happened too.” Lance argued. Yes, he’d gone to the warehouse where the Gambit was found. He tried to ask the SCPD officers, as well as the feds, what they knew about the yacht. They all told him that they couldn’t tell him anything. “Five years and I still don’t know how Sara died.”

“I know, which is why I convinced the officers not to tell IA. You weren’t there as a detective, you were there as a grieving father. You can’t do that again, though. I don’t have the same sway with the feds as I do the 12th precinct.”

 

After the movie ended, Oliver and Felicity went to bed. He changed in the bathroom and waited for her to already be under the covers before he came into the room. She gave him an encouraging smile before wishing him goodnight.

That night, Oliver dreamed about the night that Gambit sank. Ever since they’d found the boat, he’d relived the same memory of the storm causing the boat to capsize. He saw Sara reach for his hand before being sucked into the dark water below her. He remembered his father pulling him out of the water and onto the lifeboat. He recalled his father’s last words to him and the sound of the gunshot that ended his life.

He could hear the crashing of waves against the boat, and knew what came next. This was the part of the dream/memory where he washed up on Lian Yu. However, before he could see the shore, he was woken up by a noise.

“Oliver? Oliver.” Felicity whispered. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t sit up from where he was laying, still startled by the nightmare, but he signed out something to her. ‘I was having a nightmare, about the Gambit. I’m not okay, but I’m not _not_ okay either.’

“Okay.” She said. “Is there something I can do to help?”

‘Can you- no, its dumb.’

“It’s not dumb, tell me.” She said quietly.

‘Can you- can I hold you? Just until I fall asleep?’ If he could feel Felicity, he knew he wasn’t alone. Her head on his chest, or her fingers running through his hair grounded him. It kept the nightmares at bay.

“Sure.” She said as she moved the pillow separating them out of the way.

It was a little awkward at first, but they eventually found a position that worked for them. Felicity had her head resting on Oliver’s shoulder and he had one arm around her. She fell asleep somewhat quickly, and as he listened to her even breathing, he found his eyelids getting heavy.

 

Oliver didn’t wake up again until a ray of sunshine came through the window and hit his eyes. If he had to guess, it was between seven or eight AM, much later than his usual wake-up time of 4:30. Felicity was still sound asleep on his chest, and for the first time in weeks, Oliver felt rested. He was trying to figure out how to get out of bed without disturbing his girlfriend when she stirred.

“Why is my pillow moving?” She asked sleepily. She looked up. “Oh, that’s why. Good morning.”

‘Good morning. Did you sleep well?’

“I did, thanks to my comfy pillow.” She said with a smile. “What about you?”

‘Good, I- I only had the one nightmare.’

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked. She didn’t want to push him to talk, but she also wanted to give him the chance to talk if he chose to.

‘I don’t wanna be too detailed but- it was a memory. Of the night that Gambit went down. It’s been five years, but I can still feel the water on my face and when I close my eyes, I-.’

He closed his eyes and his hands started shaking.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You don’t have to say anymore.” She said as she rubbed his arm. “It’s January of 2013. You’re in Starling. You’re home. You survived. I’m right here.”

Oliver calmed down after several moments and they both got out of bed. She followed him into the kitchen and talked with him while he made omelets for both of them. They talked about random things: projects she was working on, books he had just read. It was took early for them to discuss, or even think about, Tempest or the Gambit or his crusade. They were finishing up breakfast when there was a knock at the door.

Felicity opened it to find John standing there with a brunette she’d never seen before. He told her there was something important the woman needed to tell Oliver. 

* * *

 

**Moscow- Late 2009**

Amanda Waller had just finished explaining to Oliver Queen, the newest asset she’d “recruited” for ARGUS why she’d taken him to Moscow. There was, allegedly, going to be a sale of weapons-grade Uranium, helpful for make nuclear bombs, on the horizon. Waller believed that between his friendship with Anatoli, a known Bratva member, and his combat skills, which foiled Fyers’ operation, he was the best choice for the job.

“And why exactly should I help you?” He asked, crossing his arms. She’d just admitted to knowing he was alive and leaving him on Lian Yu. This meant her inaction also made her somewhat responsible for what happened to Shado and Sara.

“You are going to work for me whether you like it or not.”

“Might as well kill me now then.” He said.

“I have a better idea.” She countered. She then told him her offer.

“What?”

“You heard me.” She said. “Do we have a deal, Mr. Queen?” Oliver nodded. “Good, follow me and you’ll meet your partner.”

He followed Waller out of the bedroom he’d woken up in. They walked downstairs and she introduced him to Lyla Michaels, who would be his partner for the mission. 

* * *

 

**Starling Present**

Felicity led John and Lyla into the kitchen. Oliver looked up when he heard footsteps. As soon as he saw Lyla, he tensed. She was about to open her mouth and speak when a knife whizzed past her head and hit the wall.

“What the hell Oliver?” John started to ask.

Oliver, meanwhile, was glaring at Lyla, to everyone’s confusion. They hadn’t seen him that angry at anyone or anything ever. Oliver slowly signed something, without taking his eyes off of Lyla. Felicity interpreted.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Lyla?” She interpreted. “Why did you bring her here, John?” She crossed her arms. “I’d like to know that too, as well as why you don’t seem surprised to be getting this type of reaction.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Digg learn why Oliver hates Waller, and by extension Lyla, so much.

Oliver was glaring at Lyla, to everyone’s confusion. John and Felicity hadn’t seen him that angry at anyone or anything ever. Oliver slowly signed something, without taking his eyes off of Lyla. Felicity interpreted.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Lyla?” She interpreted. “Why did you bring her here, John?” She crossed her arms. “I’d like to know that too, as well as why you don’t seem surprised to be getting this type of reaction.”

“I-.” She started to say. She had a plan in her head on the drive over, but suddenly, her mind went blank. “Johnny, I know what he can do. If he wanted me dead, I would be.”

Oliver, meanwhile, continued signing. ‘I met her the one time I was off the island.’

‘Is she the person who wouldn’t let you come home?’

‘No, she works for her though. The woman’s name is Amanda Waller. The group is called ARGUS.’ He admitted.

‘Do you want me to make her leave?’

‘Not yet. I wanna know why she came.’

Felicity looked over to Lyla who was trying to find the right words. “I suggest you start talking soon, or the only secret AGRUS is gonna be keeping anymore is the last place Amanda Waller took a dump.”

“Felicity, that’s really not-.” John said. He didn’t know what was going on, why Oliver had reacted like this, but he was worried they were jumping to extremes.

“Look at him and tell me this isn’t necessary.” She said, pointing to Oliver. “When the trial was happening, when you found the Gambit, he didn’t have as bad of a reaction as he did when your friend walked into the room. That tells me that whatever she did to him, whatever Waller did, was worse than what happened to the Gambit.” She turned to Lyla. “Well?”

“I didn’t know.” She said quietly.

“You didn’t know what?”

“Oliver, the deal you made with Waller, I didn’t know that that’s what she meant.” Lyla said after clearing her throat.

“What do you mean? What deal?” Felicity asked. 

* * *

 

**2010**

Oliver went to the ARGUS hideout. He and Lyla had stopped the sale, the nuclear material had been recovered. The world was safe, or so it seemed. His left pec was still sore from getting his Bratva tattoo. Anatoly had made him a captain just before ARGUS swarmed the building to stop the sale. He wondered how the man would react if he knew Oliver only came to Russia, only joined the Bratva, because of ARGUS.

Oliver couldn’t bring himself to worry too much at the moment though. He kept his word, now it was time for Waller to keep hers. Waller, and a handful of other agents were already in the building. Lyla wasn’t, but Waller told him she was finishing up some paperwork.

“I must admit, as troublesome as you were, you came through.” She said.

“Yeah, so now its time for you to fulfill your end of the deal.” Oliver said, crossing his arms.

“First, a toast. I think you’ve earned that.” She said as she poured a brown liquid into two glasses. She handed one to Oliver and they clinked glasses before he took a sip.

“Stall all you want, I haven’t changed my mind.” He said, putting the glass, which was still mostly full, down. Waller nodded to someone behind him and a second later, everything went black.

 

Oliver came back to consciousness slowly. He could hear voices, but his eyelids felt heavy and he couldn’t quite open them yet. The voices speaking were very close to him.

“How pissed do you think he’s gonna be when he wakes up?” A man said.

“How pissed would you be?” Another man said. Oliver recognized his voice. The man was an ARGUS agent. What was going on? “We need to go. This place freaks me out and I don’t wanna be here when he wakes up, do you?”

“I feel kinda bad.”

“Don’t.” Both men stopped talking and Oliver heard them walk away.

He heard the whirl of machinery. It sounded like either an airplane or a helicopter. He finally got his eyes opened and saw a small military aircraft flying over him. Next to him was a duffel bag, containing his bow and some clothes. He sat up and wanted to vomit. He was back on Lian Yu.

Waller had lied to him. Lyla had lied to him. They both gave their word Oliver could go back to his normal life after he stopped the Uranium from being sold. He was wary of Waller, but he thought he could trust Lyla. She was his partner; he’d told her how much he just wanted to see his family again. She sat there and nodded along while knowing he wasn’t going to go home after this.

Before he could get too angry, a missile hit the ARGUS plane. It looked like the kind Fyers’ missile launcher had had. Looking at the smoke trail, it had to have been fired from on the island. He was back in Lian Yu, back in purgatory, and just like the first time, he wasn’t alone.

He grabbed the bag, knowing whoever fired that missile would want to know why a plane had landed here. Oliver needed to not be in the clearing when they arrived. He made his way back to Slade’s downed plane and hid his stuff before going to investigate who else was here.

He went back to the clearing he’d woken up in and started looking around. Then, the hair on the back of his neck started to stand up. He was being watched.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” A voice said from behind him.

 

Lyla entered the safehouse after she’d finished cataloging evidence from the mission. She didn’t know why Waller insisted she oversee it and not a different agent. The brunette was tired enough as is. Waller was looking over case files, preparing to pack up and leave Russia.

“Where’s Oliver?” Lyla asked.

“He was eager to go, so I sent him on his way.”

“What story did you give him to tell?” She wondered. She was a little upset she hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to her partner, but knew he was happier than anyone than this was over.

“Story?”

“For how he was found? His disappearance was kinda a big deal. When they find Oliver Queen miraculously alive, that’s gonna be a big deal too.” Lyla said. Waller just gave her a look. “You aren’t sending him back to Starling, are you?”

“No. Oliver Queen was a useful asset. He’s no longer useful to us. And if he were found alive, people would definitely have questions.”

“You told him if he helped us stop the sale, you’d give him his life back.” Lyla pointed out.

“And I have. I’m sending him back to his life on Lian Yu. He should’ve been more specific when he took my deal.” Waller said as she put the last file in the box. “I imagine he’ll be waking up on the island right about now. Grab your stuff, we’re leaving.” She saw the look on Lyla’s face. “Don’t tell me you feel bad for him. The world already thinks he’s dead, its not like anyone’s waiting for him to show up.”

Lyla knew there wasn’t anything she could do right now. Quitting ARGUS wouldn’t solve anything and she didn’t have the clearance to commandeer a plane and get Oliver off of Lian Yu. At least, not yet. One way or another, she was going to help Oliver. She owed him that much. In the meantime, she needed to wait for the right moment and hope Oliver could survive the island.

For two years, Lyla struggled with the part she’d played in Waller’s deception. She knew Oliver probably hated her; he probably thought she’d been in on the secret. The day Oliver Queen was found alive was the first day Lyla felt like she could breathe properly. Her ex-partner was alive. Now, she just needed to make things right with him.

* * *

 

**Present**

“She did that to him?” Felicity asked. “And you still think I shouldn’t burn the agency to the ground, John?”

“I don’t think you should dump all their files onto the dark web. It’ll mean chaos and innocent people will be caught in the middle.” John said. “I’m still on the fence about destroying them though.”

Oliver stood up from his seat and walked over to Lyla. He stared into her eyes before signing something to Felicity. ‘You said you didn’t know Waller was tricking me. Why should I believe you?’

“Do you remember the last conversation we had, Oliver? ARGUS had recovered the…. Material we were looking for, you went back to the safehouse and Waller pulled me aside. Do you remember what I said?”

‘You volunteered to pretend to be the person who found me floating in the middle of the ocean with no memory.’ He answered. ‘That doesn’t prove you didn’t know.’

“You were my partner. You saved my ass when I got made and Kovar tried to kill me. Do you really think I’m so heartless that I wouldn’t have told you the truth? Tipped you off? Or tried to help you? Waller betrayed you, and made me complicit in it. I didn’t know until after you left, and I spent two years trying to find a way to get you off of that damn island.”

“Ok, let’s say we believe you. Oliver found his own way home. Why are you here now?” Felicity cut in.

“Like I said, I was complicit in what Waller did. I need to make up for that.” She said. “And after the Gambit was found, I looked into a few files in ARGUS’s backroom that you might find interesting.”

“Tomorrow.” Felicity insisted. “Come back tomorrow and tell him, He- I think today’s been tough enough. Unless it’s about an immediate threat.”

“It’s not. I know this was a lot to drop on you. Let’s go Johnny.” She said before walking out of the kitchen and leaving the house altogether. Digg apologized for bringing her here without knowing the full story and left.

 

Felicity waited to hear the door close before she spoke. Her eyes hadn’t left Oliver’s since Lyla had finished telling her side of the story. “Do you want to be alone for a little bit?”

‘No. Please don’t leave me alone. I don’t wanna be alone.’

Felicity held a hand out, waiting for Oliver to take it. He looked at it for a few seconds before sliding his hand into hers. She led him into the living room and gestured for him to sit down on the couch. “I’m sorry for what happened.”

‘You shouldn’t be. I was stupid.’

“You weren’t stupid, Oliver. You were manipulated. That’s a very big difference.”

‘I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.’

“Ok. Did I ever tell you about the first computer I ever built?” She asked him. He shook his head. “Well, buckle up, because its my favorite story. It all started when I was five…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


End file.
